Things Change
by TheWriterFormerlyKnownAsNixon
Summary: Trent's not the guy Gwen thought he was. 2 month after TDI, the campers come together at a resort for a week. Gwen and Trent have broken up, and Cody can't think straight. He tries to go to Gwen as a friend... But will it be something more? GC.
1. Chris's Apology

Hello, hola, and konichiwa. This is my first TDI fic, so I may not have character accuracy down perfectly.

Disclaimer: I do not own TDI, otherwise Gwen and Cody would've been a real couple.

---

"What are YOU doing here?" Courtney asked when she saw a familiar nerd at the resort. Harold stepped back, hoping Courtney still didn't hold a grudge against him.

"Uh… I was invited…" He said, holding up his invitation.

"Give me that…" Courtney took the letter from the boy who cheated her out of 100k. Sure enough, it was the same as hers, but with his name replacing hers in the letter. It was an invite an all expense-trip paid vacation to a 5-star resort for a week in Florida, flight and all. Courtney was skeptical at first, but when she saw the private jet, she was convinced. But… What was this all for?

"You know, I think this has something to do with that show we were on…" Harold said. "I mean, everyone else is here from camp. LeShawna, Owen, Cody, Noah, Duncan…"

"Duncan's here?" Courtney asked gleefully. He never mentioned this.

"Yeah, and everyone else… Except Gwen and Trent," Harold shrugged. "Maybe they didn't want to come," Courtney had tuned him out when she saw Duncan nearby in the pool. "Uh… Hello?"

"That's great…" She said, walking off. Harold shook his head.

"Chicks…" He said. "I'll sometimes never get them,"

---

An hour since Courtney arrived, and nothing strange had happened. Nobody had come to explain, nothing. When suddenly…

"Would the campers for Total Drama Island report to the snack bar?" A voice on some sort of loudspeaker was heard. With that said, every one of the campers moved to the snack bar (Which Izzy and Owen were already at).

"Wonder what we're all doing here…" Lindsay said dumbly.

"Isn't it obvious?" This is a new show Chris made to torment us," Heather, everyone's favorite little… Well, you know, remarked, arms crossed. Had she known this sorry bunch would be here, she would've never come.

"As fun as that would be…" An all-too-familiar voice came. A chorus of groans followed. "Hey, hey hey!" There was a smoky explosion that erupted from the snack bar, which cleared instantly. From it had come the dynamic duo, the kings of torture, the dreaded Chris MacClean and his equally hated assistant and partner in crime, Chef.

"I knew it!" Heather yelled. "I am so out of here…"

"Now hold on there, baldy," Chris couldn't let go of the shaving incident, even though Heather's hair had (Mostly) grown back. "I never said this was a set up. On the contrary, this is just our way of saying thank you for participating in our little fun show," He casually explained. It had been 2 months since the campers had left the island, and they were mostly unchanged in appearance, and attitude. Except for a select few, but we'll get back to THAT in a bit…

"Psh, yeah right. Since when did you start caring about others?" Duncan said spitefully.

"Yeah!" Courtney yelled at his side.

"I'm not kidding, guys. There are no strings attached to this," Chris replied. Chef simply nodded to back him up.

"Oh, sure…" Noah, our favorite little sarcastic guy, rolled his eyes. "What's the REAL story?" Chris's normally happy face turned to one of annoyance.

"Alright, the big guys at the top of the network said we went too far with the show and made us do this for you. Happy?" He said rather quickly.

"Now THAT I believe," Noah said.

"Chef and I are just here to keep an eye on you all. We already sent your parents info on this. Why did you think they didn't stop you from going all the way down here alone?" The torture master had a point. Their parents had been pretty nonchalant about the whole thing…

"So, we can do whatever we want?" Owen asked.

"Anything within the resorts rules and the law… Duncan…" Chris answered.

"I get it, I get it…" Duncan said, pushing his arms forward a few times to emphasize.

"Good. Now, we have important TV production-type things to do…" Chris said. "Oh yeah, I forgot, you have the whole resort to yourselves. It's rented out,"

"How much money do you guys have?" Beth asked.

"A lot," Chris said. "Now, I assure you this is no set-up TV show. If it was, I'd be fired. And I'm NOT going back to doing musical duets with Chef again,"

"…You guys did musical duets?" Heather asked.

"Uh… I…" Before the conversation could go any further, a shout was heard.

"Just shup. Up. I don't want you near me anymore!" The sound of an angry goth shouting could be heard.

"And so the last guests arrive… I think…" Chris said.

"Gwen, please, can't we just talk about this?" Trent could be heard. Something was up…

"There's nothing to talk about! You said you were a 'one women man', you liar!"

"What are you talking about? I haven't cheated on you or anything!"

"No, but I've seen the way you've been staring at other girls! For the past two months I've noticed! And you're not the sweet, sensitive guy I thought you were, you dirty pig!"

"Ooo… THAT doesn't sound good,"

"Please, why can't we talk about this? Just give me another chance and…"

"I've been giving you chances for the past DAMN TWO MONTHS! Look, Trent, I don't know how more blatant I can be; IT'S. OVER," Gwen and Trent walked in, Gwen looking like she had just visited a Chris convention, and Trent chasing her, trying to form words.

"Just get away from me, you ass!" Gwen's look worsened when she saw Chris and the rest of the campers.

"Uh… Someone else go explain what's going on…" Chris said, vanishing in more smoke with Chef.

"What the HELL is going on!?" Gwen screamed, dropping her bags. Everyone was too scared to move. "Well!? Is Chris putting us in ANOTHER show?"

It was Cody who found the balls to speak.

"U-uh… W-Well… No…" He began, still terrified of her. He already knew Gwen practically hated him as it was, and she was pissed right now.

"Then what is it?"

"C-Chris's… Chris's bosses said he was being to mean to us and made… Made him h-host this thing to a-a-apologize," Cody stammered, stepping back. Gwen's faced lightened, but only a little.

"Oh… Great. Just the thing to get away for YOU," Gwen looked ready to stab Trent with a knife. She stormed off, Trent recoiling in fear. It wasn't that he had done something huge; Gwen had just built up anger for the past month or two, and had had it. LeShawna stopped her friend suddenly. Gwen sighed.

"What… I guess you heard us?"

"Talk, girl," Gwen sighed again.

"He's just… So… Fake… I thought he was nice… Caring… But he's not. He just wants one thing from me, like every other guy I've dated…" Gwen said, getting angrier again.

"Easy, girl… Look, there IS a hot tub here… I think you could use it," Gwen smiled slightly.

"Thanks… I really could," Her smile faded. "Just make sure TRENT," the word was said with more venom than a box jellyfish. "Doesn't go after me,"

"I'll give you your private time," LeShawna assured her.

"Thanks," she said once more, walking off to change.

---

I watched her from afar. She stopped to talk to LeShawna.

Sigh… Gwen…

I had simply leaned an elbow on the counter after explaining to her and Trent what had happened, while everyone else had moved off to do other stuff. Except Owen, who was holding Izzy while they both wolfed down pounds of food. I paid no mind, though. I couldn't stop staring at Gwen… I wanted to comfort her; really, I did. Not as a way to win her over, not as a way of getting her off the rebound, but as an honest friend… But I knew she hated me. Ever since that challenge in the canoes, I could tell she just thought I was… an annoying little brother. Yeah, I got my hands on some of the tapes and heard her say it. It really brought me down… I was hoping we could've at least been friends… I looked back at Owen and Izzy, who were cuddling against each other now. I sighed, seeing Duncan and Courtney walk by holding hands… They were lucky, finding love like that. By not Cody, nope, he was cursed to be the outcast, the geek… I had stopped trying to be a lady's man awhile ago. I could honestly understand why Gwen probably hated me so much… I talked to her like… Ugh… I had no respect back then, and she didn't seem interested in talking with anyone… I saw her walk off. If only I could just… Be her friend… Or something… If only…

"Cody…?" My thoughts shattered when Bridgette and Geoff entered the shack. Naturally, since they were two of the nicest people around, they had noticed me sulking. Great, was I looking like I was begging for attention now?

"Oh, hey Geoff… Bridgette," I said in a gloomy voice.

"Hey man, what's got you down?" Geoff asked, sitting down.

"I'm fine… Just a little tired," I lied. I never was good at lying…

"It's Gwen, isn't it?" Bridgette asked. I groaned slightly at the mention of the name.

"Dude… I know you love her and all, but… Don't you think it's time to, you know… Move on…?"

"It's not that… I'm just really worried about her… And I wanted to talk to her as a friend, nothing else…" I sighed. "But I know she doesn't like me… At all,"

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, the last time I spoke to her was when I tried to ask her out… She was pretty mad…" I replied.

"Well, don't you think maybe she's not so angry about it?"

"Well… I kinda saw a confessional where she… Said I was like an annoying little brother…" Bridgette sighed.

"You know… She's mentioned you a bit lately," She said.

"…Huh…?"

"Yeah, Bridgette's talked to her in the last week or so… When she was starting to get fed up with Trent…" Geoff explained.

"Well, while we were talking about it, you came up. Gwen feels a little… Bad… About completely shutting you out like she did. She says you tried to avoid her at all times after that…"

"Well… Like I said, I thought she didn't want anything to do with me,"

"People can change… And you've definitely gotten more mature from what I've seen… Why don't you go talk to her? She went to the hot tub," Bridgette said. I smiled slightly, rising.

"You know… I think I will. Thank!" I suddenly gained a surge of confidence. With that said, I headed for the hot tub area, determined to patch things up with Gwen.

But in the back of my mind, something was telling me that maybe… Maybe I still had a chance to get her…

---

Well that's 1 chapter done! Please review all you can! I love reviews like cookies!


	2. Change

Since it's the weekend, I'll try to get another chapter in quick. Updates may not be so fast all the time.

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Mmmmm… This WAS nice… I sighed happily as the steaming water soaked up to my neck. Leshawna had been right about the hot tub; I was already feeling better about… Him… I sighed. Thinking about him made me realize why I was in here in the first place. Why had he lied to me? Did he just think I was the hottest girl at that camp? I thought more. Maybe I'm being too hard on the guy… After all, maybe Chris's little antics just warped his mind that much… Yep, that sounded about right. We all hated Chris… But at least he got what he deserved by being forced to make this little party happen…

Footsteps.

Great, just what I needed. I slowly turned, trying to see the figure out of the corner of my eye. I failed to hold back a groan as I made out the image of Cody walking up to me. He stopped as soon as I did. No doubt he was here just to try to catch me off the rebound… God, why wouldn't he learn?

"Go. Away," I said between gritted teeth.

"Uh… S-sorry…" He said nervously, and started walking off. I sighed. What was I doing? Maybe he had good intentions…

"Wait…" I said it without thinking. "What did you want…?"

"Uh… Well, um…" He took a breath, clearing his throat. "I'm not here to try to win you over, if that's what you're thinking…" He said. I turned, not entirely believing him. He was fidgeting slightly, not quite looking at me directly. "I just… Wanted to clear the air between us. That's all…" He said, stumbling over words like an 8th grader performing Shakespeare. _It was… Kinda cute…_ Wait, what?

"…Alright then…" I said, shaking myself of the thought. I turned back, leaning against the wall of the tub as I he eased himself in. Silence followed. "…Sorry about telling you to beat it like that…" I said, trying to break the silence.

"Hey, I understand… You look like you've been really stressed lately…" He said. "Plus, I figured you wouldn't want me around… Last thing you'd want while getting over someone is an annoying little brother bugging you," He suddenly said. I gasped slightly.

"Annoying little… But… I never said that…" I said nervously.

"Heh…. Uh, well… I may have gotten into some of the confessional tapes…" He said, rubbing the back of his head. "I… Heard what you said about me…" He sighed. Great. Now he think I hate him. What do I do…?

"That was weeks ago…" I found myself saying.

"Yeah, but… I figured you hold a grudge… I spent days trying to think of ways to apologize for how I treated you on the boat challenge, but…" He sighed. "I was too scared to try to talk to you again," There was something about the way he said it… I knew he wasn't just saying this to make me feel sorry for him, but it did… I really put him through all that with a few words… And, uh… Crotch hits…?

"…I'm…Sorry…" I mentally slapped myself. That's ALL I could think to say?

"Hey, I'm the one here to apologize," He said, holding a hand up. "I know back then, when I asked you out, I was… Well…"

"Rude?"

"Yes," He said, not taking any offense to it. "I just wanted to say sorry, is all…" I smiled slightly. The fact that he really meant it was the thing that made me. I still could tell he was in love with me when he blushes slightly upon seeing me smile.

"Apology accepted," I said simply. "But… Why did you think I would hold a grudge…? That's Courtney you're thinking of,"

"Well… I thought I came on too strongly… and like I said, I saw that video…"

"Well… Things change, Cody…" I said, moving a little closer to him. "Trent's not exactly who I thought he was…" He moved back slightly, afraid I would explode again. "Relax, I'm not so pissed anymore," I sighed. "And you… Well, you've changed, too… I can tell," His voice was deeper, for one thing… But besides that he was a lot more mature and nice than he was at the camp. He just seemed a lot… A lot…

_Cuter?_ There was that little voice again… I don't think he's cute!

He rubbed the back of his head, smiling dumbly. God damn it, he was cute! I fought an urge to blush upon seeing his ridiculous expression. Was it just my brain trying to find something else to attach to, or something… More…

"Well… I, uh…" He looked really nervous. I tried not to laugh as he tried to find words. I needed some time alone for a minute… Something inside me was ticking.

"I'll be right back, okay…?" I said. I needed to talk to someone else. Maybe Bridgette or Leshawna… Cody nodded, watching me as I got out. I took one last look at him, and ended up in a giggle fit. Him seeing me in my two piece had obviously put that truly hilarious look on his face. I felt my cheeks warm up when smiled. I quickly walked off. I REALLY needed to talk to someone…

---

I walked out to the pool area to see Leshawna talking to Bridgette. Perfect… Just the two I needed to see! I walked over to them. Leshawna must've seen me, because she stopped and pointed over at me. They both approached me.

"Feel any better?" Leshawna asked me, still worried. I nodded.

"Well, sort of…" I said. "Now I've got another problem,"

"Another problem?" Leshawna looked confused.

"Uh… Does this have something to do with Cody…?" Bridgette asked somewhat reluctantly. I hesitated.

"Yeah…" I admitted. "How did you know…?"

"Well, I was… Sorta the one who told him to go talk to you…" She said, looking down. "Sorry if he bugged you…"

"Oh, no he didn't…" I assured her. "He just wanted to clear things up with me…"

"That's what he told me," She replied. "Nice to know he was being honest,"

"So, what's the problem then?" Leshawna cut in.

"Oh, right…" With that I began to explain all the things that were going on in my head earlier; how a little voice inside me kept calling Cody cute, how I blushes when he smiled, how I found him a lot nicer to be around… The two smirked at each other when I finally finished. "What…?"

"Girl, sounds like you've already fallen for another guy," Leshawna accused.

"W-what…!?" I yelled, blushing like crazy.

"Aw, come on, you know it's true," She continued to tease.

"No! I just think he's a really nice guy… Really nice and cute… DAMN IT!" The slapped my forehead. Maybe they were right…

"You know… You really should give him a chance…" Bridgette said, now serious. "That guy really does care about you…"

"How would you know…?"

"Well, I spent a few weeks at that resort we went to when we got voted off," She began. "Cody almost always talked about you when Trent wasn't around… But not in the way I expected," I was confused by what she meant. "I mean, earlier, he always talked about how hot you were, and how he knew he'd get you… But there… He still clearly loved you, but he was a lot more mature about it. I really wish you could've heard some of the things he said about you… They were so sweet…" She said. Now I was feeling bad. I hadn't even tried to talk to Cody at that party after the show…

"Uh, I think she can…" Leshawna said, holding up a tape,"

"What's that?" I asked.

"Well, I may have swiped this from Chris when I suddenly got voted off for no reason…" She started. "That ain't the point. Come with me," We both followed her into the room next to the pool, which had a TV. Thankfully, nobody was using it. We all sat on one of the many chairs and couches, and Leshawna popped the tape in. It was showing the losers that night they voted Leshawna off on accident… Well, it was a little before that.

"I'd vote for Gwen," Cody had started saying.

"But she rejected you on national TV for someone cooler, hunkier, and more stylish!" Lindsay said dumbly. Yeah right… He wasn't any of those things to me anymore…

"Thanks for pointing that out, Lindsay," He said, annoyed. "Gwen is my dream girl; I'm just not her dream guy, but hey, as long as she's happy I'm happy," He said. The TV shut off, and I stood there with a surprised look on my face.

"But that was probably the weakest thing he said…" Bridgette said to Leshawna. THAT was the weakest thing!?

"Good point," Leshawna said, reaching into her pocket. "That reminds me… Cody wanted me to give this to you at that party," Leshawna took a slip of paper out of her pocket. "I didn't read it, so I have no idea what it is," I took it. It was a letter apparently addressed to me.

"…Thanks…"

"Come on Bridgette, let's give her some alone time," Leshawna suggested, walking off. Bridgette slowed herself.

"Trust me; you really should just give him a chance… You never know…" With that, she walked off. I flopped down on the couch, holding my head in annoyance. I was so confused… But I might as well read this letter first. I tore the thing open, unfolding the paper inside. My eyes drifted down the paper quickly at first, but they started to slow. This… This was… I continued to read, expecting some sort of screw up… Nope, none. I read it again, more slowly this time. I felt my face turn hot as I continued to read the paper again and again.

That does it.

I headed back for the hot tub. I wouldn't be truly convinced until I heard Cody read it out loud himself.

---

What was in that letter? Will Cody finally win Gwen? Will Gwen ever forgive Trent? Will Heather be tormented later on this story? Find out in the next exciting installment!


	3. Gifts

Stand by, my Hawkmen! DIVE!!

…Oh, hello. Didn't see you there… I was just, uh… Never mind, it's not important. The point is that I'm bringing you another exciting chapter of THINGS. CHANGE… Damn it, I can't fit a 3rd word in like Chris does… Ah, just read it.

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own anything in this story.

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I was sitting in the warm waters of the relaxing hot tub, waiting. Gwen had been gone awhile… I sighed, resting my chin in one of my hands. The room was completely silent; no sort of air conditioner, no bubbles on in the hot tub, nobody else talking… Just me, all alone… Like always. I was used to it at this point; I had given up trying to be cool, after all. I just wish… I just wish I could have Gwen… I don't think I'll ever love a girl like I loved her.

"Or maybe there's a chance," A soft voice startled me enough to jump up. I turned to see Gwen holding a slip of paper.

"Gwen!" I said happily, smiling. "What kept you?"

"Well, I had a talk with some of my friends… We watched a quick video…" She began, easing into the hot tub. This time, she was sitting inches away from me. I was confused by her actions, to say the least.

"Oh…" I could only say, trying not to stare at her much. "What's that you got there…?" I asked, pointing at the paper in her hand.

"Oh, this…?" She looked at it. "Something Leshawna gave me…" She held it out to me. "Would you read it… Out loud?" Alright, NOW I was confused. Gwen was smart; she could read just fine. But I didn't want to ignore her request, so I took the paper from her and scanned over it. My eyes quickly widened as my face brightened. This… This was my…

"Uh… Do you… Really want me to…"

"Pleeeeaaase?" She pleaded. Gwen never pleaded to me before… Alright…

"Okay…" I took a breath. This was going to be pretty humiliating. I read it to her then… My poem I made for her.

Here's how it went:

Roses are red, and violets are blue…

But that's not how this goes.

As much as I want to talk about your eyes, call them lakes of beauty…

As much as I want to compare you to an angel, lost from heaven…

That's in every poem you've read; dozens, If I'm correct.

I know mushy stuff wouldn't win you over, and hey, even this won't work.

But I thought I should at least say how much you've changed my life.

I know you may not like me, but my love still goes strong.

This poem may not rhyme, and may not flow that much.

But I'm no good at writing; this is the best I've got.

I've wanted to tell you how much I'm happy for you and Trent.

How much I'm glad to see you smile, even though I'm not the cause.

I want to see you happy; I want to see you laugh.

I may not be the one you want, but that doesn't change my mind.

I've taken so much crap from others, even mauled by a bear.

But I'd have 10 bears maul me at once before I'd see you cry.

You're the greatest girl I've ever met, smart, kind, and cute

But I'm just the outcast; dumb and immature.

I know I'll never get you, but I just want you to know…

Gwen, I love you, and that I'll never let you go.

Oh look at that, I rhymed! Guess I can't keep my word.

But that was just one mix up; the rest is all the truth.

I may not ever feel the feeling of your lips against mine…

I may never feel the warmth of your body cuddling against me…

I may never be the one who make you laugh and smile…

But damn it Gwen, I love you, and if you're happy, so am I!

My face was buried in the paper, trying to hide the bright red beet that was my face. I swear the paper would like on fire any minute.

"Cody…" I felt the feeling off her hand on my shoulder, which made me freeze up even more. But I slowly removed the paper from my face to see her smiling at me warmly.

"So… Leshawna finally gave it to you…?" I asked, still blushing. She nodded.

"I read it over at least a dozen times… But I had to hear it from you to be sure it was the truth…" She sighed. "I know it wasn't too romantic… But it may have been the sweetest thing I've ever heard anyone say…"

"D-do you r-really think that…?" I asked, leaning up with enthusiasm. She giggled.

"Oh course… Any other girl would want to see that overused crap you talked about… But I've always wanted to see a poem like that… And trust me, I've read more than a few dozen poems,"

"Did Trent ever write one…?" I found myself asking. She frowned.

"…No…" She sighed, sliding down a bit into the water. "Even if he did, I can tell it'd be the same bull everyone else writes for me… But you, Cody… You're not everyone else…"

"Well… I've been trying to separate myself from everyone lately… Go against the crowd, yah know?"

"I know… I do that too… Why do you think I dress like I do…?"

"To make guys like me drool?" We both laughed.

"You know, I'm sorta glad you wrote that while you were so depressed… It would've never sounded so sweet if you weren't," She pointed out.

"Well, I guess the best time to write is under emotional stress…" I shrugged. There was more of that unnatural silence I had grown to hate for a moment. Finally, Gwen spoke up.

"You know… I have something for you too, you know…" She said.

"Really…?" I asked, curious. "What is it?" To be honest, I was expecting a physical thing.

"Well, two things, really… First off, I never got to thank you for trying to get me and Trent together…" She began. "And then when you got attacked by that bear… I never told anyone how worried I was about you,"

"But you guys voted me off…" I started.

"…I didn't…" She confessed. "I knew you'd recover… I just didn't want you to get hurt more… Something inside me wanted you to stay so I could protect you…" I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

"And looking back, there's something I've owed you… For both the bear and helping me with Trent…" She said, leaning closer. I began to sweat slightly, and it wasn't the hot tub.

"Uh… Heh…" she was barely an inch away from me. "W…What… What is it…?" I asked, trying to act cute by playing dumb. She laughed slightly.

"Oh, I know you're not THAT oblivious…" The next thing I knew, my dreams were coming true; the feeling of Gwen's lips pressing against my own was possibly the greatest thing I've ever felt. I couldn't move; I didn't want to make any moves to ruin this moment. I just enjoyed the few seconds of eternal happiness, which felt like hours to me, of Gwen's mouth attached to mine.

Then, it ended.

I sighed when she pulled away, but was still smiling.

"T-t-t-t-thank… Thank you…?" I tripped over the words.

"That was MY thank you to YOU…" She said, smirking. "Just be quiet and accept it,"

"Okay…"

"Hey, I said there were two things…" She said as I moved away. Everything around me was hazy; I wanted to just pounce on her and start to move out with her… And yet, I didn't at the same time. Thank God I could fight the little dirty perv within me.

"What's the second thing…?" I asked, smiling. I was really looking forward to it after the first gift. What could it be? A longer kiss? There could be so many things…

And none I thought of could ever hope to fill me with as much joy as the real gift did.

"A chance," The words passed through my ears, circling my brain for a moment. I blanked out for a moment, my mind having trouble soaking that information in. "Uh… Cody…?"

Well, the next part is kinda hard to explain, but…

I.

Freaking.

Exploded.

I sprang out of the hot tub like a kid who had finished 6 jumbo Pixie Stix, bounding around the hot tub cheering and laughing like some i had won the lottery. And in a way, I had… But my prize was worth more than all the money in the world.

"SHE SAID YES! SHE SAID YES! HOLY CRAP, SHE SAID YES!" I was practically skipping while I screamed these words. I was amazed I didn't slip. All this time Gwen was laughing hysterically at my reaction, before finally going over to me and holding me down.

"Cool it, ADD boy…" She said, still laughing. "Why don't we just settle down and talk,"

"But there's a big movie theatre here!" I exclaimed, practically jumping up and down.

"…Really…?" Gwen smirked. "Alright, we'll go there…" I had finally calmed down enough to speak normally.

"But… Shouldn't we change?"

"Eh, we can dry off, but I'd rather just stay in my swim suit... Plus, I like seeing you in yours…" She was teasing me… And it was working, due to the fact that my face was steaming again.

"You sure?"

"I know you're not the little perv you used to me… I trust you," She said seriously. "Now where are the towels?"

"Right over here," I said, heading to a nearby door. The closet inside held dozens of white cotton towels. Once we dried off (I had to fight off the urge not to stare at her as she dried), I began leading her to the built-in theatre. The dark theatre would really set the mood… Perfect…

---

As we all know, there's always a time when the crap hits the fan. And it was just about to happen. Because little did Gwen or I know, Heather had happened to overhear our big conversation… And she was determined to make Gwen miserable…

---

:O Heather, you evil little… Well, you know. I know this chapter was kinda short, but I wanted to get it out before the day ended. As always, reviews are welcome by all!


	4. Date

Back once more, thanks for reading.

---

"Large popcorn…" I asked asked the man at the register. We were at the small stand right outside the doors to the theatre, where your everyday movie concessions were being sold. I looked at the drink sizes. "And 2 medium…"

"Wait," Cody cut me off. "If we just get 1 king sized drink to share, we'd save some money…"

"Uh… But this is an all expense paid trip, remember…?" I asked, an amused look on my face.

"Oh… Right, I forgot…" He said, smiling sheepishly with a blush on his face. I grinned.

"Fine… 1 king sized Coke, 2 straws…" The man nodded with a strange smirk on his face… Alright, this guy was kinda creepy. No wonder he had a job at a hotel movie theatre… Cody's smile widened when I said this, taking the drink while I grabbed the popcorn. "Anything else you want?" I asked the grinning boy. "Maybe some candy?"

"I'm good… Got something sweet right now anyways," I rolled my eyes, smiling. Guess the old Cody was still in there… But I didn't mind; it was kinda cute now…

"Save it for the theatre, Cody," I said, leading him inside.

---

The theatre was empty aside from Gwen and me. Perfect… Time to put the moves on… Wait, what…? Oh, great, the old Cody was surfacing… Get it together, man, don't screw this up… We found a seat right in the middle, settling in with our things.

"So, you got any idea what movie we're seeing…?" I asked.

"No idea," She responded, shrugging. We set the popcorn and soda in between us. We still had a little while before the movie started up, it seemed, so we simply sat in the darkness. After awhile, I found my eyes drifting up and down her body. I was really starting to enjoy the fact that she decided to stay in her swim suit… Oh for the love of, stop thinking like that! But no matter what, I couldn't stop looking at her… Her blue and black hair had remained unchanged from the last time I saw her… It really brought out her eyes… Every time I looked into them, it felt like I was falling into a trance… However, I didn't stare at them for long. Unable to fight my primal urges, my eyes drifted down from her face past her neck right to her chest…

That's when I realized she noticed me staring.

Crap. I looked away, unable to hide my blush. That's when I heard that adorable giggle of hers…

"Cody…" She said accusingly. "Naughty…" Even though she was laughing, I could hear some annoyance in her voice.

"I'm sorry... I just…" I sighed. "Maybe we shouldn't be doing this in swimsuits…" I looked back at her to see she was still smiling.

"You're only human… and you're still the old Cody I remember, too…" She said, sighing slightly. "But I put up with Heather for 8 weeks… I can put up with you,"

"I'll take that as a compliment!" I beamed.

"Yep… Definitely some old Cody in there…" She muttered. We sat in silence, staring at the black screen. "You know, I expected you to try something bold by now…" She decided to tease me a little more.

"Huh?"

"You know… The lame stretch excuse to get your arm around me… Reaching for popcorn when I do…"

"Heh…" I felt another blush. "I know I've been sorta... Immature…" I admitted, referring to my dumb little line outside and my, ahem, staring. "I don't wanna make you feel uncomfortable or anything… I know I bothered you with my rash actions before, and…" Gwen sighed as I spoke, shaking her head.

"Cody, Cody, Cody…" She looked at me, moving closer. "I know you're trying to be respectful and all… I know you're trying to keep control of yourself, and I think it's really sweet… But you gotta stop living in the past… I've forgiven you for all that stuff. This is a date now… I know how hard you're trying, but I don't mind moving a little fast… And I'm doing all the work," She explained to me. I let the words sink in, and before long I could feel that old cocky grin creep onto my face.

"Well, in that case…" I quickly threw my arm around her, pulling her closer.

"What am I gonna do with you…" She said, laughing at my sudden action.

"Well, maybe this, for starters…" I gently kissed her soft lips. She sighed.

"You know, you really are like an annoying little brother…" She leaned her head against my chest. "But in a cute way…" She said happily, nuzzling her head against me a bit, making my insides feel like they were being tied into knots. I sighed loudly, enjoying the feeling.

"Hey, the movie's starting…" I pointed out. She nodded.

"Hey, I know this movie…" She said as it started up. "Oh my God I love this one!"

"What is it?"

"Ever seen Alien…?" She asked.

"No. My parents don't let me watch R stuff… I've heard about it though,"

"Well, it's pretty scary… Think you can handle it…?" She teased. I put on my over-confident look as usual.

"Ain't nothing the Codster can't handle!" I said while pointing to myself with a thumb, trying to sound like my old self. She laughed at my performance.

"That was dead on… But don't blame me if you freak out…" Yeah right. I'm sure she'll be clinging to me in fear by the end of this…

---

"Hey, have you guys seen Cody anywhere?" Owen walked up to Geoff, DJ, and Duncan, who were catching up on some old times. The thought to themselves.

"Can't say I have, actually. Probably off stalking Gwen now that she's single," Duncan suggested.

"Hey, I talked to the guy, he's not like that anymore," Geoff said. "He's a lot, you know… Cooler,"

"You call everyone cool," Duncan pointed out.

"Duh, that's why I said cool-ER!" Geoff repeated. Duncan rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, I don't speak party,"

"Remind me how you got out of juvi to get here again?" DJ suddenly asked Duncan.

"Eh, warden got the call that it was for official business relating to the show," He replied. "Lucky for me, I guess. Just can't steal anything,"

"Yeah, man! A week of non-stop partying! WHOO-HOO!" Geoff shouted.

"…So none of you have seen Cody?" Owen asked again. The others shook their heads.

"By the way… I thought you were with Izzy. Where is she?" Duncan decided to change the subject.

"Oh, she went to find someone… Not sure who," Owen shrugged. Suddenly, they heard arguing.

"Did NOT," The all-too familiar voice of Noah was heard.

"Did too!" That answered Duncan's question. Izzy was once again tormenting Noah about how he kissed Cody in his sleep.

"Alright, fine, I did. But I was asleep! Happy?" Noah finally gave in.

"Haha, yeah! You kissed a gu-uy! You kissed a gu-uy!" She sang.

"Hey, have either of you seen Cody?" The overweight teen called over. Noah glared.

"JUST BECAUSE I KISSED CODY DOESN'T MEAN I'M GOING TO FOLLOW HIM AROUND!!" He screamed. The people around them stopped talking and stared at him. A few snickered. "Oh for the love of…" He slapped his forehead. "But no, I haven't,"

"Can't say I have, either," Izzy shrugged.

"You know, the guy seemed really down today… And he's usually in a good mood, like me!" Geoff pointed out.

"I knew it," Duncan nodded. "Probably trying to find Gwen,"

"Woah, what's with this crowd?" Bridgette's voice came. The guys and Izzy looked over to see Courtney, Bridgette, and Leshawna.

"Eh, we were just talkin' when Owen came over here asking about Cody," DJ explained. "Don't suppose you saw him?"

"Actually, Geoff and I did talk to him… But that was quite awhile ago," Bridgette said, walking over next to her boyfriend.

"Poor guy's probably still after Gwen…" Leshawna guessed.

"He really should move on," Courtney said like it was obvious. "Can't he get a clue?"

"And what's wrong with loving someone?" Leshawna asked the girl, a bit annoyed with her slightly rude comment.

"Nothing. I'm just saying he should get it by now," She folded her arms. "Personally, I think it's unhealthy. And I would know because…

"Because you used to be a C.I.T, oh whoopdy-freakin'-doo!" Noah said annoyed, rolling his eyes with his arms in the air. "We heard you the first 3 dozen times, and frankly, WE DON'T CARE. Get off your high horse and please just SHUT UP," The ever-annoyed Noah ranted. Courtney glared.

"Duncan…!"

"Hey, the guy's got a point. I'm a bit sick of the C.I.T thing too, babe," Courtney put her hands on her hips, but stopped herself from going off.

"The point is, he should just give up before it gets really serious," She finished, taking a deep breath to calm down.

"No such thing as too much love," Leshawna muttered.

"I'm just a little worried… I'm starting to think he may be the origin of too much love…"Courtney admitted.

"As long as we're on the subject, anyone seen Gwen, or Heather for that matter?" Geoff spoke up. They looked around. They could see the rest of the old campers; only Cody, Gwen, Heather, Chris, and Chef were absent. Chef and Chris we're doing God-knows-what, Heather said she went to the bathroom, but the others…

"Hm…" Courtney thought. "You don't think…"

"Gwen came up and talked to us about him… They'd been talking and Leshawna gave her something he wrote for her…" Bridgette shrugged. "Who knows?"

"What's going on here?" The most infamous voice of all was heard as Heather walked to the huge group. "What's everyone talking about here?"

"Nothing YOU'D be interested in," Leshawna remarked.

"I believe that I have a right to know," Heather said, crossing her arms while holding her head high.

"On what account? That you're the cruelest here?" Noah sneered at her. She glared.

"Well, if you really want to know, we're talking about Cody," Courtney finally said.

"Ew, that weird little perverted loser?" This rewarded Heather a few glares. "What? You know how he was around Gwen,"

"That don't mean he's a pervert," Leshawna defended the boy.

"Well he's still a loser either way," Heather countered. "Even more than Harold, if that's possible… AH!" She just hit Leshawna in a bad place. The heavy black girl shoved her into the pool on that remark, sending her splashing in. This got everyone else laughing. She surfaced glaring.

"THAT'S a warning," Leshawna said, glaring.

"Fine," Heather climbed out, shivering and dripping.

"Anyways…" Owen cut in. "You happen to see him?"

"Little freak must've finally driven goth girl crazy, since I saw them both walking into the movie theatre together…" She said. "Now, if you don't mind, I have more important things to do than talk to you," She stormed off. The group all looked around at each other.

"You really think she's tellin' the truth?" DJ asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised… Gwen honestly seemed interested in him…" Bridgette admitted. "I even told her to give him a chance,"

"As fun as it would be, let's not go bug them," Duncan said, shrugging. "We'll tease them about it when they come out…" Courtney slapped him in the back of the head. "Hey!"

"Duncan!" She yelled, annoyed with his remark. Everyone else laughed.

"I say we just enjoy the pool for now!" Bridgette suggested. Owen was way ahead of her, and everyone in the pool had cleared out.

"CANNON-BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!" He had gone off the high dive, making a massive splash.

"Wait for me!" Izzy yelled, running after him and jumping in. The rest of the group dispersed. In the midst of it all, Leshawna happened to catch Trent on a chair nearby, sighing sadly to himself as he played on his guitar. She sighed slightly.

"Sorry, boy, but next time you should be honest…" She said to herself, shaking her head. She headed off for the pool.

---

"Cody… Cody… CODY!!" I yelled as the "Codster" had his face away from the screen as he clung to me in terror. "Relax, it's over!" He didn't budge. "Cody…" I sighed, shaking my head with a hand on my head.

"…It is…?" He asked, finally coming out of hiding. About halfway into the movie, Cody had freaked out and I had to move to his seat and hold him. He didn't calm down until the end of the film. He was still shaking slightly.

"Ain't nothing you can't handle, eh?" I asked, mocking him. He was sweating slightly, and his face could make a tomato jealous.

"Uh… I was… That… I wasn't scared…!"

"Yeah right. I can see why your parents don't let you watch that stuff…" I sighed. "You're a piece of work… You know that…?" He looked down, a sad look on his face. Oh no… But then, suddenly, for no reason, he started to laugh. Not just a light, uneasy laugh, but a LAUGH laugh. And it got contagious. Soon I was laughing along with him, for what I didn't know. I guess I just could not stay annoyed with the guy… And his little shenanigans may have been the most adorable things EVER. Wait, did I just think that…? I stopped laughing, mostly to catch my breath, and began thinking a bit. I'll be honest; I mostly gave him a chance because I was concerned about him… But I was honestly having more fun than I ever had had with Trent… Maybe this would work out…

"Oh boy… That was a great movie, though!"

"You only saw half of it!"

"Yeah, and it was great!" I rolled my eyes. Now that he was cheery, he was back to his old self from the island… But now, I kinda liked it. That being said, he was a little more mature, but still… Regardless, I found it more cute than annoying. After a small silence, I sighed.

"Cody…" I began.

"Hm?"

"I'm going to be honest; I was really skeptical about this date… I honestly mostly did it out of sympathy…" Cody frowned.

"…I see…" He said. "Should've guessed…"

"No, let me finish… I WAS… But you know, I've really had fun…"

"You have?"

"Of course!" I saw a twinkle in his eye as he brightened up again. "I said I'd give you a chance at first… But now…" I swallowed a bit. "Cody… I really want you to be your girlfriend," I said kinda quickly. At first, his face froze into a smile. Then that smile grew. And grew. I swear it took up half as face. His eyes were as wide as he could make them, and before I knew it I was being crushed by the force of him hugging me.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you thank you!" He yelled happily. I struggled to speak.

"You're welcome… But… Could you please… Let me breathe…?" He released me.

"Sorry, sorry…" He said, blushing.

"Why do you have to be so cute when you blush…?" I asked.

"I guess that's the Cody charm," I giggled. He was actually pretty funny… He stood up. "What should we do now…?" He asked, stretching. The empty bag of popcorn was on the ground with the soda cup, but we didn't really feel like picking them up. I was standing as well at this point, simply staring at his grinning face. There was that twinkle again… I felt my face redden a bit and my heart beat a bit faster when his arms wrapped around my waist.

"Hm… I think I've got an idea…" I said absent-mindedly. Seeing him in his swimsuit like this was nice… I felt his around travel up my side until they were grabbing at the sides of my head. Ooooh… That felt nice…

"Me too…" He said hazily. My eyes shut as his mouth trapped mine. He didn't end it as quickly as I did earlier, either. He just held his lips where they were, not trying to push me into frenching or anything, just holding me… I made a soft noise, wrapping my arms around his waistline, rocking him back and forth a bit. I could feel his lips curl into a small smile as I did. I could tell we were both blushing immensely, but I didn't care… Tired of letting him do all the work, I pressed my lips against his more, and he moved himself closer to me. His arms drifted back down my back, as we continued to kiss. I had to admit, out of all the boys I've kissed, he may be the best one at doing it… I was really enjoying it.

So I sighed unhappily when forever ended and we split apart.

"Gwen…" He sighed, holding me against him.

"Cody…" I simply whispered, my eyes still shut. We stayed like that for a long time, making no noise besides our breathing and heartbeats. I smiled warmly, nuzzling the side of his head. He moved from his heels to his toes, rocking us like a rocking horse. It made me feel relaxed, and I just sighed dreamily as he did it. "You're really good at this…" I said quietly. "You must have had a lot of experience…"

"Actually, I haven't…" He began, whispering as softly as I had. "I've been saving all this for that one special girl… You're my first girlfriend, Gwen, you know that...?" First girlfriend… for some reason those words filled my heart with a warm, fuzzy feeling… My hug tightened on him, and I buried myself against him even more. We stayed entangled in each other's arms for a moment behind finally pulling back, our arms still around the other's waist.

"Now what…?" I asked sleepily.

"Want to go see the others…? Catch up on old times, maybe…?" He suggested. I smiled warmly.

"Sounds good… We can break the news to them…" He finally let each other go, and began walking out of the theatre. Not wanting to completely let me go, I felt his hand grab mine. I leaned against him, showing a smile.

This was going to be the greatest week ever…

---

Aaawwwwwwwwwwwww… Chapter end!


	5. Tears

Starting this one during school, so the format may seem a bit different. Thank God for study hall.

Disclaimer: Still nothing.

---

I was a bit let down when our moment end, but Gwen was right. We needed to spend time with the rest of our friends, too… I don't want to cling to her all week, after all, now do I? We left the theatre, and moved down the long hallway. For a moment, we were quiet.

"So, how do you think they'll react…?" I finally asked.

"About what?" She asked, though she obviously knew what I meant.

"I mean what will the others say about, you know, us?" Gwen thought.

"Well, Leshawna and Bridgette sorta convinced me to even ask you out in the first place, so I'm sure they'll be fine with it… Heather will take every moment to make fun of us, no doubt… As for the others, I have no idea," She answered. I thought for a moment, wondering how the others would take it. Then the question finally crossed my mind. I knew it was dangerous, but I asked it anyways.

"…What about Trent…?" Gwen came to a stop, holding me in place. I was still kinda wimpy, so I couldn't break free of her grip either. "…Gwen…?" I asked. Her face was blank. "Gwen, hello…?" I waved a hand in front of her face. She shook herself.

"I have no idea who you're talking about," She said firmly, and walked a bit faster than earlier.

"Come on Gwen… You just can't ignore the guy…" I could tell I was testing her incredibly short temper, but we had to face this at some point.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, her teeth gritted. I sighed.

"Gwen… I know how angry you are with him… But it's not like he cheated on you… You just said he was a bit less committed to you than you hoped…" Gwen paused, looking down.

"…Yeah, I said that…" I sensed something. The way she said that was… Strange… It was my turn to stop. She tried to break free of me, but I grabbed her firmly.

"Gwen…?" I asked, looking into her troubled eyes worryingly. "…Is there something that you aren't telling me…?" Gwen avoided my gaze.

"…No," She said simply. "Can't we go now…? I want to get back to the others…" I sensed hesitation and eagerness in her voice.

"You aren't a very good liar…" I pointed out. "Now, what's been bugging you…?" I released her. She didn't try to run off. She just sighed, her hair hiding her gloomy look.

"Alright… Here goes…" She took a breath. "I was… I was at the mall with Trent a few days ago…" She began. Uh-oh. The mall was a prime place for breakups and the like… I could see where this was going. "We… Well, I went to get some food for us. On the way to the food court, I thought I saw Heather… But I ignored it," Her voice shook slightly for a moment. "I'm starting to wish I hadn't…" Her voice made her sound like she was going to cry soon. My worried look turned to distress. I could already tell were this was going, and it wasn't good.

"Alright, you don't have to tell me the rest if you don't want to…" I really didn't want to see her cry, but she kept going.

"Please…" She said, faking a smile. "I'm fine…" Her voice cracked a bit. "Well, I got some stuff for us… I came back to find Trent missing…" Her body lurched a bit.

"Gwen, stop…" She didn't listen.

"I looked around… I heard something in the nearby restroom…" She took another breath. "I could hear Trent… He was saying what he was doing was wrong…" She paused. "Then I heard Heather…" A tear fell. Don't cry… Oh please, don't… "So… So I opened the door…" Her lip began to quiver like a shivering child. I could see her eyes glisten slightly from water forming. "They… They…"

"Gwen, please stop! I can't stand to see a girl cry!" She was lost reliving her nightmare.

"They…" She paused for a moment.

"They what?" That did it.

She finally broke down, tears pouring from her emerald eyes. I wouldn't have any of it. I pulled her into a tight embrace, letting her bury her head into my shirt. Her muffled sobs made me want to cry myself; I could feel the moisture from her tears begin to soak through my shirt. "Th-th-th-they were… Making out in there… Trent had his hands up her shirt… His hair was all messy…" She cried between sobs. Now it got worse. And I… I didn't know what to do…

"Gwen…" I whispered. I couldn't think of what to say; I just continued to hold her against me, tightening my grip whenever she cried any louder. I moved my body from side to side, doing the same to hers. "Gwen… You don't need to worry about a thing… I'm here for you…" I felt my eyes water. "Just… Please… Gwen, don't cry… Don't cry…" I could feel tears drip from my own eyes. My methods didn't seem to be helping. "Gwen, you don't have to worry about him hurting you ever again…" I took a deep breath, trying to get a hold of myself. "I'll never do something like that to you, Gwen… I promise…" After awhile, I could hear her sobbing begin to die down. She was beginning to calm down, finally… I held her closer to my chest, hoping my heartbeat would help calm her down more. I had never seen Gwen in such a state of mind; Hell, I've never seen ANYONE in so much distress… It was just plain inhuman. Time passed in silence as she slowly and slowly stopped. Her trembling body slowed, and her sobbing finally died completely. I felt her pull away, looking at me with tear-stained eyes. They were filled with sadness, loneliness, anger, and so many other things… And yet she had a smile on her face… It was eerie… But I just stared at her hypnotic eyes, finding myself lost in the torrent of emotions that were raging inside…

"…You mean that...?" She asked. I blinked, snapping out of it.

"Of course I mean it!" I took her hands. "Gwen… I care about you more than anything in the world… To say that I love you with all my heart is… An understatement… I could never intentionally hurt you…" I smiled. She remained quiet, looking down.

"That's… Very nice… And I know you mean it, but…" She sighed. "I… I just can't say that I love you, Cody… Not yet…" I felt a pain in my heart, but I kept my smile. "You're a sweet guy, and I really enjoy your company… But…"

"But...?" My smile faded. Was she already breaking up with me…?

"And no, it's not that I'm breaking up with you," She practically read my mind. "I just… Can't say those words…" She gently kissed me. "I've got too much going on in my head… I really… Just wanna slow down a little," My smile returned.

"Of course… I'll slow down as much as you want…" As much as my hormones were against this, it was necessary. She was going through a hard time right now, and I needed to support her in every way.

"But that doesn't mean I don't want to be around you… It feels nice having someone to talk to all my problems about…"

"What about Leshawna?" I found myself asking.

"She can't really relate to everything I've been through… I know you can't either, but I feel like I understand you more… And you understand me… You're different from every other guy, and not just because of the way you act…" She sighed. "Something about you just makes me want to spill out everything that's on my mind… And I'm happy for that…" I brushed some hair out of her eyes.

"I'm always ready to hear your problems… I know what it's like to be…" I tried to think of a word.

"… An outcast…?"

"Yeah…" Dead on. "Gwen, I'm your boyfriend now… I'll never let you deal with your problems alone," I embraced her again. She smiled warmly, nuzzling me again.

"I know…" She shut her eyes. "I just feel so… Secure around you… Like nothing bad can ever happen…" She sighed happily. I held her close once more, letting her rest her troubled mind… Neither of us said anything for a long time. I felt my eyes shut, and I soon fell into a trance.

---

"There you are!" My eyes fluttered open at the sound of another voice. Cody and I snapped out of our fantasy world, looking over to see Lindsay. Of course… SHE had to end that moment... "We've been looking all over for you two!" I moved away from Cody, still a little angry.

"We were on our way to the pool, actually…" Cody said before I could say anything I would regret.

"Oh, good! Everyone's still over there," The airhead said, walking off. We followed; I gripped Cody's hand, leaning close to him. I had said I wanted to slow down, and I meant it… But I just felt so much safer with him against me…

---

I kinda felt a little sad writing this chapter… It got to me a little.


	6. The Rest of the Day

Once more, I am starting this at school. Luckily I got the formatting down finally.

---

The outside air felt cold compared to the indoor area. I shivered slightly, looking around. Everyone was still here. Many of them were swimming, although a few were out of the pool. Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted in the air and being crushed against something. It took me awhile before I realized it was just Owen hugging me. I couldn't blame the guy; he was pretty strong.

"Hey Owen…" I greeted, still somewhat annoyed with his greeting.

"Hey, put her down," Cody tapped him on the shoulder.

"Sorry," He said, setting me down. "I just didn't get a chance to say hi to her yet," That was how he said hi to a lot of people…

"It's alright," I said, brushing myself off. I saw more people walking towards us.

"Everyone's been wondering where you guys went!" I finally noticed Izzy on his back. Oh boy, the crazy one… I managed to flash a smile, waving.

"And just where have you crazy kids been?" Duncan and Courtney were now in the group.

"You know… Around…" Cody said smoothly, smiling at me. Ducan folded his arms, a small smile on his face.

"Let me guess, movie theatre?" He asked. His smirk widened at our surprised faces.

"But how…?" I began.

"Heather said she saw you guys going in there," Owen cut in. Heather… Oh well, I'll let it slide.

"Well, that's true," I began. "But I doubt she told you the rest of the story…" I said, gripping Cody's hand. I saw him blush slightly when I did.

"Well well… Look who finally won his prize," Duncan laughed slightly. "Now what were you saying earlier Courtney?" He looked at her.

"Oh... Right… Guess I was wrong!" The former CIT said, confusing us.

"Princess here said you should just stop chasing her," Duncan explained. Courtney shrugged, an innocent smile on her face.

"Just thought it was for the best…"

"Told you there's no such thing as too much love," I heard the loud voice of Leshawna as she walked over, with Harold, grinning at us. We both blushed slightly.

"Guys… It's not such a big deal, really…" I said meekly.

"Sure it is… We're all couples here, aren't we?" Duncan joked.

"Hey, don't forget us!" Geoff slid in with Bridgette on his back.

"Seems we missed something," Bridgette said, looking me. "Took my advice, huh…?" I nodded.

"Glad I did…" I said silently, leaning my head against Cody.

"Aww…" The normally-stern Courtney couldn't help herself. We both separated at that.

"Eh, come on, let's leave these lovebirds alone," Duncan said to Courtney, as they walked off.

"Wow…" My eyes narrowed when I heard another voice. "Just when I thought you couldn't be any more of a freak," Like I said before, Heather was taking every opportunity to take stabs at us. "I mean, come on Gwen, you can do better than this… I think…" I couldn't hold back a growl.

"Hey, hey, easy…" Geoff stepped between us, looking at Heather sternly. "We're just here to have a good time. Lay off," Heather rolled her eyes.

"I'm just saying…" She turned to walk off, but stopped. "I knew you had low standards, but wow…"

It took Leshawna and Geoff to hold me back.

"Easy girl…" Leshawna was way too strong for me.

"Don't worry about it, Gwen," Cody said, smiling. "I'm used to being made fun of, and frankly, it's no big deal anymore," He assured me, his cocky smile never leaving his face. The others let me go.

"She's just jealous is all…" Leshawna said. "Heather don't got nobody to love her…"

"Wonder why…" I said, smirking.

"Want me to get a list?" She asked jokingly. Everyone else laughed.

"We shouldn't be bugging you so much… Come on, Geoff," Bridgette walked off with the party man.

"Girl's got the right idea… See you around," Leshawna and Harold left on that note.

"So, now what?" I asked Cody.

"Well, we could just relax here for awhile,"

"Sounds good to me!" I shoved him into the pool, laughing.

"Woah!!" He landed face-first, but surfaced quickly.

"Oh, you…" He was obviously angry, but laughing at the same time. How anyone could do that, I don't know… I guess only Cody can. Suddenly, I felt a wave of cold spread over me as Cody splashed water at me. Oh that little… Oh, who am I kidding…? "Now we're even," Cody said.

"Oh yeah?" I plunged into the water after him, splashing him with water. Our noisy antics seemed to attract attention, as soon we heard other splashes as people entered the pool. Before long, nearly everyone else was in the pool with us.

"Hey Geoff, help me set that net up!" I heard Duncan yell over the others. "Let's get some volleyball going!"

"Sounds good, man," Geoff agreed, as the guys went to fetch the volleyball net. I looked at Cody.

"We'll get some alone time later," He said, shrugging.

"Besides, these are our friends... Well mostly," I said. Some of the others went to the other side of the pool; others stayed on our side. I counted heads. Aside from the ones getting the game set up, the only ones missing were Heather… And Trent… No! I shook my head quickly, dismissing the thoughts. Trent was in the past; worry about it later. For now just enjoy yourself…

---

I left for my room as soon as I saw them walk out; I didn't want Gwen to see me. I sighed, putting my guitar case under the bed in the room I had picked, and jumped onto it, looking up at the ceiling. What had I done…?

I remember it clearly… We were at the mall, and Gwen went to get some food. I waited for her, when SHE came along… Heather… I should've avoided her, but I couldn't… I thought maybe she was nicer, so I went to talk to her… By the time I realized she was just as manipulative and cruel as ever, it was too late. I don't exactly remember what happened, but soon we were in the bathroom making out. I wanted to stop myself, but my body just wouldn't let me… I'd gone farther than I'd ever gone with Gwen with a person that tried to ruin my relationship a few weeks ago…

Then she opened the door. That was the end of it.

I never got the chance to even explain; I never got the chance to apologize… I couldn't bear to face her. I had broken her heart; cheated on her while we were practically on a date… I knew I deserved it.

But I found myself smiling slightly.

Gwen had found someone else; I knew Cody, and he was a lot more committed than I was… I knew he'd never hurt Gwen. But… I had to apologize, at the very least. I sighed.

Tomorrow… I'll take care of it then…

---

"It's so beautiful…" Gwen sighed happily, leaning against my side. My arm was around her waist as we both sat out on a bench on a balcony in the hotel, staring at the twinkling sky. The moon was a giant, pale sphere; the stars danced like billions of Christmas lights on a massive tree…

"…Yeah…" I said absent-mindedly. We were finally dressed for once; the pool had closed down a couple hours ago. Now we were just sitting out here, enjoying the warm summer night air in peace. I rested my head on hers, relaxing myself. To be honest, we weren't REALLY dressed; we were both in pajamas right now. It was 1 in the morning, but neither of us had wanted to sleep yet… So, we found ourselves out here, talking the night away…

"Oh hey…" She said a little sleepily. "A shooting star…"

"Oh yeah, you're right," There was a pause.

"So…?"

"So?" She sighed.

"Did you make a wish or not?"

"Of course I did…" I sighed happily. "I wish that we could stay cuddling like this forever…" I said, nuzzling her a little.

"I do to…" She said. "But that wasn't my wish…" She added. I didn't see it, but she had shut her eyes.

"Hm?"

"I wish… That I had given you a chance sooner…" she said, smiling warmly. Oh, Gwen… We sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Well, what's important is that we're here now…" I finally said quietly.

No answer.

"…Gwen…?" I looked at her, and sighed a bit. She was asleep, or at least I thought she was. "Great…" I didn't want to wake her, but I had to do something… I slowly rose, trying to keep her in the position she was in. Being as slow and careful as possible, I put one hand under her legs, and one behind her back, and lifted her up so she was being cradled like a baby. Crap, she was heavier than I thought… Heh, I'll tease her about it tomorrow. Now, where was her room…

Oh crap.

She never told me… And there 15 floors in this hotel! What to do… Then the idea came to me. My room was right down the hall… I didn't have much of a choice anyways. I carried her all the way to my room, and then managed to open the unlocked door and bring her in. Slowly, I set her down on the double bed, and breathed. That was a lot harder than I thought it would be… I looked around. Nowhere else to sleep on… Oh well… I grabbed one of the pillows off the bed, and set it on the ground. Figured I should just sleep on the floor tonight…

"…What are you doing…?" The voice startled me so much I jumped. Gwen got up, yawning while stretching her arms.

"Oh… H-Hey Gwen…"

"I don't want you hurting yourself…" She said. "You already carried me here…" Had she been awake?

"Wait, so you were…" She smirked, nodding.

"I swear, some people will do anything for a free ride…" I said, grinning.

"Get off the floor, Cody," She said rather sternly.

"But… There's nowhere else I can sleep,"

"The bed's a double bed, isn't it?" My face turned bright. "What…?" She asked with an innocent smile on her face. I knew she was anything but that, course.

"Uh… I don't think we should be sharing a bed…" I said nervously. Part of me wanted to, but the gentleman in me stopped my urges.

"Oh come on, loosen up…" she said, lying back. "It's not like we're doing anything… Just snuggling…"

"Well… I do like snuggling…" The gentleman was losing, and I got up.

I pulled the covers over the two of us, sighing as I turned to Gwen. She smiled as cutely as she could as I wrapped my arms around her body.

"Now don't try anything…" She said a bit more seriously.

"I won't…" I said as she pulled close to her. I yawned. "Let's just get some rest…" I said, my head lying against hers on the pillow.

"Sounds good…" she said sleepily. The combination of exhaustion and Gwen cuddling me was really working fast.

"Good night…" I said quietly. Within a few minutes, we were both asleep, smiling in each other's arms.

---

I have a small case of writer's block, so this chapter may not seem as well done as the others. I may need awhile to think…


	7. Excited

Alright, block has cleared up a bit, but not a ton.

And I am really mad right now too, since Owen won on the U.S version of the show, too… Also, WARNING. This chapter is slightly more sexually suggestive than the previous ones.

---

My eyes slowly opened. Ugh… Morning… I looked around with my eyes, not remembering where I was at first. Oh yeah… I smiled to myself when I recalled feigning sleep just to have Cody carry me around… Speaking of the little cutie… I turned my head to see him next to me… His hair looked quite messy, but aside that he looked adorable… He was sleeping like a baby…

That's when I noticed it. I almost burst out laughing. Cody… Cody was sucking his thumb! I couldn't hold it in for long, as I found myself laughing uncontrollably after a few seconds. Cody's eyes fluttered open, the noise waking him up.

"Mmm mm mhmm…" He stopped trying to speak when he realized what he was doing. His eyes widened, and she yanked his thumb out.

"Cody, I never knew that you still sucked your thumb!" I teased, still in a giggle fit.

"I-I don't… That was the only time…!" He said defensively.

"Sure…" I said slyly, playing with him more.

"Honest!" He said angrily, getting up on his feet. The situation had woke me up more as I leaned up, smirking.

"Aw, wittle Cody sucks his thumb…" I said mockingly. I couldn't tell if his face was red from anger or embarrassment. "It's nothing to be ashamed of… Much…" I added.

"It's a habit… I thought I stopped awhile ago…" He sighed.

"Alright, alright… Sorry… It was just too funny…" He laughed nervously.

"Guess it was…" He said, shrugging. "Just… Promise not to tell anyone?"

"No problem…" I said. I'd never embarrass him that much…

"Just don't expect me to carry you again," He suddenly said, smirking. I rolled my eyes, smirking back.

"I guess that was kinda over the top…" I said.

"I'll say… You're pretty heavy, you know…" My eyes narrowed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Now it was his turn to play around.

"I mean you're heavier than you look," He said, that annoying little grin on his face.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" I knew he didn't mean any of it, but I was a little sensitive about this sort of thing…

"…Maybe…" I shoved him down on the bed. "Oof!" I pinned him down, lying on top of him. "Don't crush me,"

"You've got a lot of nerve…" I said in a low voice.

"You're so hot when you're mad, you know…?" He bounces his eyebrows. I swear to God…

"Well, then, I'll just have to do this…" I said threateningly, raising my hands up a bit.

"W-what… What are you doing?" He asked.

"This," That's when I began to tickle him. He was still pinned down by me, so he couldn't get out or fight back.

"S-stop!" He said between laughs. "P-please…" He was laughing like a maniac.

"Make me," I mocked him, and continued. I could see his eyes water a bit due to him laughing so hard. "Geez, you're ticklish…" I pointed out.

"P-Please…" He choked out. "L-let me… Let me… Breathe…" I giggled, stopping as he inhaled deeply. "Thanks…"

"Round 2 begins… Ah!" I let my guard down for one second, and he had flipped us over so he had me down.

"My turn…" He said, his fingers moving above his head. I smirked.

"Yeah right," Cody was still pretty weak, so I broke free of him and flipped him back over. "I'm stronger than you, admit it,"

"Alright… But please, no more tickling…?" He asked.

"Oh, I've got something better in mind…" I said, smiling devilishly. His face turned to one of fright. I got off him. "Get up…" I commanded. He got up instantly. "Get against the wall," He grinned, putting his back against the wall. We were right in front of the door, but I didn't really notice. Besides, he had locked it… I think…

"Where are you going with this…?" He asked, playing dumb. I walked over to him, exaggerating my walk a bit. I saw his grin widen as I did, and stopped in front of him.

"Eh, I'm in a really good mood now, so…" I put my hands on his shoulders. "I'm going here…" I pulled him into a rather hard kiss; not the gentle little light ones we had been doing up to this point. I felt him tense up in excitement when I did this. He put his arms around my back, pressing his lips against mine. I felt him move his lips around a bit, kissing me in others areas… I let him go where we wanted. I massaged his shoulders slightly at this point. I was going against what I had said to him earlier, but something about waking up next to him, being alone in this room, and our little conversations earlier had really… Aroused me… I could tell they'd done the same when I felt him rub my back slowly, causing me to make a small noise. I then felt something new push against me lips; something moved from Cody's mouth into my own.

His tongue.

I… Well, to be honest, I had never moved this far with Trent… I shifted uncomfortably, and stopped rubbing his shoulders. I felt him pull away. He had felt my discomfort, it seemed.

"I'm sorry…" He said. "I… Guess I got carried away," I sighed.

"No… It's not that… I've just never moved that far with Trent… I don't really know what to do," I admitted. He beamed.

"Well neither have I, but I've seen a lot of movies…" I laughed a bit. "Just follow my lead…" He resumed, building up once more until once again I felt the foreign object enter my mouth. I froze up for a moment, not sure what to do… But eventually, I found my tongue playing around with his, letting it explore the inside of my mouth for a good while. I was blushing furiously, and I opened my eyes to see he was too, but I let him continue. I parted my lips more, sliding around a bit, giving him more movement. I let out a soft moan. I felt his hands slide down towards my rear suddenly, but he stopped himself, moving back up. At least he had some control… I felt him start to pull his tongue back. Oh no you don't… Mine followed his in between his lips. Now it was my turn to explore and discover. I felt around, tasting the inside of his mouth slowly. I savored the flavor, grinning the whole time. I couldn't tell how long we had been making out like this… But I felt like it would last forever.

"Alright, that's enough," The voice startled me so much I nearly fell over. We separated, and looked toward the door. Courtney was standing there, looking a bit sick.

"Uh… Oh, Hey…" I said quietly, looking away. I thought he locked the door…

"H-how long were you there…?" Cody asked, holding me against him still.

"I got here once you started rubbing her back," She said. "Didn't really want to ruin the moment, but… Geez, guys, slow down…" She shook her head. "It's unhealthy to move a relationship that fast…"

"Yeah yeah…" Cody shrugged. "Anything else?"

"Well, I wanted to see if you were up yet… Chris wanted us to meet at the pool in a half hour.

"Oh, really…?" I asked. "Well, we'll be down soon," She nodded.

"Don't get lost in each other again," She pointed, shutting the door. We looked at each other for a moment in silence.

"Well… That was… Awkward…" I said. He nodded. We were both still bright red.

"Well, now she's gone… Where were we…?" I pushed Cody away when he tried to move back in.

"Sorry, Cody…" I said sadly. "Courtney sorta knocked me out of my mood… I don't really want to anymore…" He frowned.

"Oh…" He said, but he brightened up. "It's fine. Why don't you go get showered and dressed, and I'll meet you downstairs," He suggested.

"Sounds good, I'll…" I got interrupted by a loud roar, and I looked down. Cody burst out laughing.

"Holy crap, you must be hungry," I blushed. I did always have a really loud stomach…

"Yeah, I am… Meet me at the dining area after you get ready…" I said.

"Yeah, kinda hungry myself," He said. I kissed him quickly.

"See you in a few…" I said, opening the door.

"Bye," I left the room, and headed back for my own.

---

I'm REALLY sorry this was such a short chapter, but I just wanted to get the relationship a bit more involved… Figured I should show their naughty sides… ;D


	8. Love and Hate

Sorry about this slow delay, but not only have I been struck with a small case of writer's block, but I was writing a Oneshot. But now I have a new chapter, and things are gonna start to heat up…

---

I walked down the hallway, still confused about what had just taken place. What came over me in there…? I never let myself move that far with Trent, and we'd been with each other for two whole months! I sighed. Well, thankfully Courtney stopped us from going too far… I blushed, thinking about what could have happened. My room wasn't terribly far from Cody's, as I soon rounded the corner to where my room was.

Trent was standing there, making me jump.

"…Hey…" He greeted sadly, waving. My eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing here?" I asked angrily.

"I came to talk…" I was already unlocking my door.

"I told you, there's nothing to talk about!" I yelled, slamming the door.

"Gwen, please!" He yelled from the other side of the door. "Just give me a chance to talk…"

"Why should I!? I saw what you did in there… You can't convince me that was her fault," I yelled back.

"Please, just give me a few minutes to explain…"

"Explain!?" I felt my face grow hot from anger. "What is there to explain!?"

"Alright, explain wasn't the best word…" He said. "Just… Please, let me speak for just a few minutes…" I rolled my eyes, but stopped to think. Trent would never stop until he won, I knew that…

I opened the door.

"Fine, but be quick," I said, trying to mask my anger between gritted teeth. He entered, and I shut the door. He sat down on the bed.

"Look… I don't expect you to forgive me, I don't expect you to accept my apology, and I don't expect you to believe any sort of excuse…" He started.

"Good," I cut him off, my arms crossed. He continued without hesitation.

"Heather… Well, I thought she might have changed…" He began. "That's the only reason I talked to her in the first place. We chatted about stuff that had happened, until you came up. Something about your name triggered something in her…" I rolled my eyes. "I mean… You how Heather… She can manipulate anyone…"

"Oh just SHUT UP," I interrupted. "Is that ALL you can come up with!? I don't give a damn how much she can change people; your hands were up. Her. Shirt,"

"Look, I don't really know what happened myself…" He continued, ignoring my screaming. "All I know is as soon as I did it, I knew it was wrong… I was going to leave, but then you opened the door…" My expression didn't change. "You ran before I could even try to explain…" He shook his head. "Look, Gwen, Heather means nothing to me… She's a cold hearted shell of a girl… I just wish you could realize how easily a guy can change around a girl… Especially someone as scheming as her…" My arms fell to my sides. I wasn't completely buying into this, but I knew this was coming from his heart… And he had a point… But I had one more thing to add.

"That doesn't change the fact that you lied to me; you always stared at other girls, when you told me you were a one woman…"

"Alright, you got me there… I'll admit, that was wrong of me, and I don't have anything to say to defend myself…" Alright, he admitting his mistake that blatantly sure helped him a lot. "Maybe since you were the only really attractive and nice girl at that camp…" He shrugged. "Regardless, what I really want is to put that all behind me," He rose. "Look, I'm not asking for forgiveness or for you to trust me or anything…" He sighed. "Just…" He held out a hand. "Truce?" I couldn't help but smirk at his choice of words.

"Truce…? What, is this a war now?"

"Look, if anything, I'd at least want to be friends… I know you love Cody, and…"

"Uh, I don't love him…" I said automatically. He looked confused.

"Wha…?"

"Well, I really like him… A lot… But well, I wouldn't say I truly and honest to God LOVE him because…" I thought for a moment, trying to think of a reason. Nothing came to mind…

"Because…?" He asked, urging me on. Still nothing…

"I… Well…" He sighed.

"Looks to me like you don't have a reason…" He said.

"But… We've barely been together for a day… I mean, that would just be too fast…"

"Hey, sometimes it only takes a day to realize you love someone… There's no required minimum or anything," He said. "And since you don't have any reasons to NOT love him, well…" Holy crap… He was right…

"Well…" I was sort of at a loss for words.

"Look, the point is that you two are happy together…" He changed the subject. "So can we just put this behind us…?" He asked, holding his hand out again. I looked at it.

"Well, I can't say I trust you… Maybe I never will…" I sighed, but smiled. "But, I KNOW you meant that apology with all your heart, so…" I shook his hand. "Friends…" He smiled widely.

"Awesome," Was all he said.

"Yeah, whatever… Now do you mind leaving? I need to shower," He nodded, leaving the room. I locked the door.

---

I stepped out of the shower, drying my hair off. Sure, you might think I was too quick to accept his apologies… But, my opinion on people can change in an instant… And Trent convinced me he was sincere in his apology. Plus, now I didn't have to worry about thinking about him anymore.

But Cody… I sighed deeply. Trent had made me realize something… I smiled as I began putting on my clothes, picturing his reaction when I told him…

Because damn it, I did love Cody.

---

"Your attention everyone?" Chris stood on a raised platform in the pool area. I looked around. Where was she…?

"Sorry I'm late!" Gwen suddenly came running out the sliding glass door, fresh out of the shower.

"Ah, that's everyone… Now, I brought you all here to tell you that Chef here will be preparing all your meals!" He said, smiling as usual.

Groans. LOTS of groans, including groans from Gwen and me.

"Hey, hey, hey!" He yelled, shutting us up. "I never said he'd be making the same food from camp," He grinned. "Chef can cook better than you think; we just loved seeing your reactions to the food at camp," That's Chris… "Just telling you so you know who to thank. Now, enjoy yourselves, or we might get fired," The two vanished in that mysterious smoke again. Geez, that was creepy…

"Well, that's a pleasant surprise…" Duncan finally said.

"Where IS the food, anyway?" Harold asked.

"Over by Owen, I'm guessing," Duncan pointed to where Owen was running. We all followed.

---

I watched them from the other end of the table. Watched them laugh, watched them cuddle, watched them… Kiss…

That should've been me.

What did she have that I didn't? She was never nice to him until now… I treated him as nice as I could back at the island! But she just chased after the girl he'd never get… He should've been mine. I was nice to everyone; I deserved something, right? Gwen was just spiteful goth. She wasn't much different than Heather, really…

They kissed again. I balled my hand into a fist. I just couldn't take watching them… She didn't DESERVE him. He could do so much better…

"Hey Beth, could you pass the bacon?" Owen snapped me from my thoughts.

"Oh… Yeah…" I gave them the plate to him, turning my attention back to the two, glaring.

That should be me… That should be me!

And the whole time, I was unaware of Heather watching me stare at them… And I was unaware of the devilish grin that appeared on her face…

---

I shook my head at the two. I almost felt like vomiting at the sight. But hey, geek and goth… Guess it made sense. The scum of society should stick together, anyways… But still, I was hoping ruining her relationship with Trent would've made her miserable… Now she was happier than ever.

People like her don't DESERVE happiness.

Perhaps seeing her getting loved was making me jealous; I don't know, and I don't care. What mattered was that Gwen shouldn't have a boyfriend. People like her don't get boyfriends…

But I couldn't get them to break up alone.

I looked around the table… Lindsay would never agree; most of these people were still on bad terms with me… There had to be someone…

Then my eyes fell on Beth.

She was glaring at something… I followed my eyes to see her looking at the idiotic couple I was looking at. I looked back at her, and back at them, and back at her again. I could practically taste the jealousy fuming from her. I thought for a moment… My lips curled into a nasty grin as the plan formed.

Beth wanted them to break up too… And I knew just how to use her…

---

"Wow… You WERE hungry," Gwen set down a third plate, stretching.

"Well, I didn't eat anything last night… Plus, I kinda have a big appetite…" She confessed.

"Huh, that explains why I had so much trouble carrying…"

"Don't start that again…" She threatened. I laughed.

"Kidding…"

"I know…" She said, kissing my cheek, making me blush slightly. I could see something in her eyes, like she wanted to say something, but I decided to wait to ask.

"So, you want to swim or wait a bit…?" I asked jokingly.

"Ugh… Let me rest a bit first…" I laughed. I looked at her closely again… There was DEFINETLY something she wanted to tell me…

I decided that I would bring her to a private spot later.

---

Where was she…? I looked around. After we had eaten, Beth had vanished… I was walking through the halls, trying to see if I could find her room.

Soon, I heard crying.

I smirked to myself as I saw an open door. I looked inside to see Beth on her bed, shoving handfuls of chocolate cake in her mouth. Wow… What a disgusting little pig… Ugh, I couldn't believe I actually needed her help…

---

"You know, I'd lay off that cake… We wouldn't want a second Owen, now would we…?" I heard a sinister voice at my doorway. I wiped my eyes, glaring over at Heather.

"Go away," I said angrily, setting the near-gone cake off my lap. I didn't realize my face was stained with chocolate, so my hands got even messier.

"Hey, just trying to be helpful…" She entered.

"I said GO. AWAY," I didn't want anything to do with her anymore.

"Oh just be quiet… I wanted to discuss something with you," She said slyly. I glared.

"I don't care,"

"Oh, but I think you do, Beth…" He stared at her fingernails as she continued. "You see, I couldn't help by notice you staring at a certain goth and techno geek earlier…" My eyes widened a bit. She looked around, a disgusted look on her face at the empty chip bags and plate on the floor. "Ugh… You know eating your own weight isn't going to make Cody love you… He's not crazy enough to fall in love with a fatass like Izzy is…" My eyes narrowed. But she had caught my interest…

"Just get to the point or get out,"

"Look," She said sternly, looking me in the eye. "We both hate each other; that's clear enough… But I need your help," I laughed slightly. "Shut it. This is actually something that will benefit us both," She continued. I stopped.

"…What did you have in mind…?" Heather smirked evilly.

"…We're gonna break up Cody and Gwen…"

---

Ooooh, that Heather… And it looks like Beth's not much better! Now we're getting to the good stuff…


	9. When The Crap Hits The Fan

Time to start cranking out more updates… Yay for you!

---

Leshawna, Bridgette, Courtney, Izzy and I were all relaxing in the hot tub at the moment. We all decided we needed a little time away from our boyfriends… Just as well, since they all wanted to get some guy time in themselves.

"So, after living on the insects for a week, Owen finally found me!" Izzy finished her… Story… On that note.

"That's not abnormal in any way," Courtney said sarcastically.

"I know! I do it like every month!" We all looked at each other, and back at her.

She really WAS insane…

"Well… That interesting story aside…" Bridgette tried to change the subject. "So, how are things going with Cody?" She suddenly asked. Of course, they were all curious about the latest couple, like any group of girls should… But I blushed a bit from being the center of attention.

"Well… It's really nice… A lot better than Trent…" I said quietly.

"Heather been givin' you a hard time?" Leshawna asked. I shook my head.

"She's been pretty quiet, honestly…"

"That's never a good thing. I'd be careful if I were you," Courtney pointed out. I nodded.

"I will,"

"I still want to know just why you suddenly fell for him like that…" She muttered. I glared.

"What are you saying?"

"Oh, sorry… I wasn't offending him or anything. I mean, back at that camp, you seemed to hate him,"

"Well…" I sighed. "Like I told him, I was sorta blinded by Trent… I didn't even really give him a chance… Wish I did,"

"Well, at least you're happy now," Bridgette shrugged.

"Yeah…" I sighed. "Although, I'm a bit worried…"

"Worried?" Leshawna repeated, confused.

"Well… Last night, we ended up in the same bed…" Everyone's eyes widened. "NOTHING HAPPENED!" They flinched. "Anyways… Well, when we woke up…"

"Hey, I saw what you two were doing in there, remember?" Courtney interrupted. "I don't want to relive that…"

"What happened?" Izzy asked, curious for the juicy details. I sighed, explaining the odd occurrence that… Occurred… This morning.

"And then, she walked in and stopped us,"

"Wow… After one day?" Bridgette was rather surprised.

"I know… I feel like we're moving too fast, but part of me likes how it's going…"

"Hey, if you really feel like you're ready to speed along like that, I think you should," Leshawna suggested. "There's no set of rules you have to follow in a relationship,"

"As much as I would seem against it… She does have a point," Courtney agreed.

"Yeah, as long as you don't feel uncomfortable about it," I nodded, happy that they were helping me out.

"The kid really loves you, you know," Leshawna reminded me. "He wouldn't push you any farther than you want to go. The only question is if YOU love HIM," I opened my mouth to say no, but then Trent's words reappeared in my head.

"…Yeah… Yes, I do," I said confidently. They could tell I really meant it.

"And that's all you need…" I sighed.

"But… When he said I he loved me yesterday… I… Couldn't say it back,"

"Why not?" Courtney asked, confused. I took a breath.

"Well, like I said, I didn't think I could really say it and mean it on our first date… But…" I sighed again. "I spoke with Trent earlier…" They all perked up a bit.

"Did he hurt you?" Leshawna asked angrily.

"No… No…" I stopped her. "He just apologized… But he told me that it may only take a day to realize true feelings…"

"You need to go tell him the truth then, girl," Leshawna ordered. I nodded.

"…Later, though… I want some girl time right now,"

"Sounds good to us!"

---

It was now pretty late in the afternoon; I had spent most of the day with some of the guys; DJ. Geoff, Duncan, and Owen to be exact. They were pretty nice, really… Guess that since I have a girlfriend, it made me cool… but right now, I was relaxing on a long chair near the pool. Nobody was out there for once, so it was nice and quiet… For now…

But little did I know, things were about to take a turn for the worse. Sure, things had been going great with Gwen… Really great…

But now it was time for the crap to hit the fan.

---

I looked out the door, seeing the man of my dreams lying on the pool chair, his eyes shut. I smiled goofily, staring for a moment.

Heather smacked me over the head.

"Stop staring and get to work. I'll go get Gwen," She hissed. I decided it would be best just to obey for now. This would be worth it in the end…

---

The sound of footsteps made me open my eyes. I looked up to see who it was.

"…Hi Cody!" Beth waved nervously, smiling.

"Oh, hey Beth…" I yawned, stretching. She just stood there for a moment, smiling as she stared at me. "Uh… Beth?"

"Oh, sorry…" She said, looking away. I sighed, confused by her antics.

"What is it?"

"Oh, well I was just about to go swimming, but I saw you out here, so I figured we could talk," I shrugged.

"Sure," I said. "Just waiting for Gwen anyways…" I saw something in her eye at the mention of Gwen, but ignored it. She was quiet for a while. "…So…?"

"Uh… Well, what have you been up to since the show…?" She asked.

"Eh, hung around, videogames, friends…" She nodded. "You…?"

"Uh, not much," She said quickly. Something was… Off… But I decided to just ignore it. Beth had always been a little strange… I figured she was like this with everyone.

---

I exited my room, having changed into normal clothes. Cody said he wanted to talk at the pool… I decided that would be the perfect spot to tell him. I walked down the hallway towards the pool entrance.

Heather stopped me.

"Hey," She greeted in her usual angry tone. I nodded, but kept walking. "Where are you going?"

"Why do you care?"

"Well, the pool's that way, but you're fully dressed…" She seemed to be stumbling on words.

"Uh… So…?" I kept walking.

"Wait…!" I sighed.

"Look, I need to be somewhere, so unless you have something important to say…"

"Well, I wanted to apologize…" She said quickly. I almost fell over as stopped abruptly.

"...Excuse me?" I doubted she meant it, but I guess I could see what she had to say…

---

"Hey, can you help me with something?" Beth suddenly asked.

"That depends. What did you need help with?"

"Well, I need to do something for a summer project for school, and I need someone else to do it with,"

"Why not just ask someone else?" I asked.

"Well, this is a perfect spot to do it," She said. "And you're the perfect person to help me,"

"…Ah, why not?" I didn't want to be mean.

"Thanks!" She yelled happily… A little too happily… Eh, maybe she liked school. "Alright, get up…" She said. I stood. She pointed to a wall. "Lean against that…" I followed her orders. She walked up, a few inches from me and facing me. "Now, this part may seem weird… Grab the sides of my head…"

"What!?" I asked, confused.

"This is a type of science experiment… Just trust me, Cody…" I hesitated, but finally did what she asked.

"Now, close your eyes," I obeyed. "Now, you can't open your eyes or resist in any way for the next step…" She said. I nodded, but was still a little unsure. "No matter what,"

"May I ask why?" I finally asked.

"I'll tell you after," She said. I shrugged, eventually deciding it'd be best to wait. "Okay… Now just hold completely still… This might feel a little strange…

The next step was something I would have never expected.

---

"…And, so I'm sorry I did all that…" Heather finished. I didn't believe her in the slightest, but I decided I'd play along.

"Whatever," Was all I could say. "Thanks, I guess…" I continued walking to the pool. I heard Heather sneeze. "Bless you," I said automatically.

---

I heard the sneeze in my earpiece. Heather's signal…

"Bless you," Cody said, thinking that was me.

"Thanks…" I said, sniffing to make it seem like I really did sneeze. Alright, I had to do this right… I had to make it look like HE was kissing ME… I heard the door begin to open. I flung my arms out, formed a surprised look on my face, and flung myself at Cody.

---

I stepped out onto the pool deck, hearing some noise.

"Cody, I'm…" I stopped when I saw the sight before me. My jaw dropped slightly, my eyes widening as much as they could. No… No, this isn't real… I must've fallen asleep in my room… Heather apologizing was strange, but… No…

Cody… Cody… And Beth… They… They were…

I couldn't finish that thought. I bolted back inside as tears began falling.

---

Alright, that was it. I shoved Beth off me, gasping for breath.

"Good God, Beth…" Her final step had caught me off guard. "You… You could have told me you were going to do THAT…" Beth had lunged at me, locking her lips against mine. For maybe 10 seconds, I didn't fight; hell, I had even relaxed for a moment… But I couldn't take it.

"Sorry! Sorry!" She yelled apologetically.

"No, don't worry about it… It was all for school, I know…" I said, still breathing. I didn't really want to speak with her right now. "Look, I need to take care of something… If Gwen arrived, tell her I will be right here…" I ran inside the hotel, heading for my room.

---

I watched Cody sprint by, and smirked to myself. I looked out, seeing Beth grinning evilly.

"She saw?" She asked hopefully.

"Oh yeah, she saw…" We high fived, surprisingly.

"Good, now we wait a few days and Cody's all yours…" I said. You know, for a geek, Beth wasn't half bad… I saw what she did, and I must say it was pretty smart… But more importantly, Gwen saw what needed to be seen… And that's good enough for me…

---

I flung myself onto the bed, clutching my pillow with as much force as I could while I sobbed more loudly than I ever had before. Tears streamed down my face like rivers as I tried to put together what just happened…

I had walked outside to see Cody up against a wall. He was cradling Beth's head, his eyes shut. I saw their lips locked; I saw Beth's shocked expression… I could tell by the way they were positioned that CODY had kissed B…BETH…

Once I came to the realization, the breakdown got worse. I was so wrapped up in my sadness that I didn't see Leshawna enter the room.

---

Oh man… What's gonna happen when Cody tries to meet up with Gwen…? Find out next time!


	10. Heartbreak

Things are about to get pretty hairy…

---

I rinsed my mouth out with as much mouthwash as I could fit in my mouth. As soon as I got away from Beth, I ran straight to my room and got out my toothbrush. It wasn't that I found Beth disgusting or anything; just that tasting another girl's lips was felt so… Wrong… Ugh… I spat out the mouthwash, wiping my mouth off with a towel. I was starting to wonder if Beth really was doing that for science… Hopefully Gwen's still out there…

---

Gwen was an absolute mess. She was curled up into a shivering ball, holding a pillow tightly. Even though her face was crammed into the pillow, I could hear her crying from the hallway. I'd never seen her like this; it wasn't nearly this bad when Heather went playing around with Trent at the island. I sat down on the bed, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Let it out, girl…" I said. She looked up at me; her face was stained with tears. "What happened…?" She flung her arms around me, sobbing louder than I had heard anyone ever before.

"B…B…B…" She could hardly speak.

"Shhh… Calm down, girl…" I patted her back. "Just take a few breathes and speak," She took a few long breathes, although it still took a few minutes for her to calm down enough to speak.

"Cody… Cody…" She just repeated his name.

"What about Cody?"

"He… She… They… Pool… Kiss…" I could already start to see what was going on.

"Come on, you can do this…" She took one more elongated breath.

"C-Cody…Cody was kissing Beth!!" She screamed, crying even harder. My eyes narrowed.

"You sure that's what you saw?" I felt her nod.

"I… I was going to meet him at the pool… I was going to tell him what I really felt… But when I got there…" I cut her off.

"Hold up… You sure it wasn't Beth that got Cody first?"

"I…I wanted to believe that too…" She started. Great… "B-But…" She was sobbing again, making it hard for her to speak. "The way he was positioned… She… She had her arms flailing with her eyes wide open… His eyes were… Were shut... His had his hands around her…" She hugged me tighter, shaking violently. I simply held her, waiting for her to calm down. "Wh-What's w-wrong with me!?" She yelled suddenly. "E-Every guy… Every guy I date…" I released her suddenly, looking at her sternly.

"Listen up, Gwen. There ain't nothing wrong with you. Almost all guys are filthy pigs 'round here… We all thought Cody was different, but it seems he's no different from the rest,"

"He said… He said he loved me… And he acted like he really meant it…"

"I've seen some guys who can really say things like they mean it… Doesn't mean they do…"

"B-But…" She sniffed. "I really do love him… I know that…" I shook my head sadly.

"Sorry, girl… But he just wasn't the guy…" I sighed, trying to assure her it was going to be fine. "Look, we're just high school kids… We don't need no guys to keep us happy!" Thankfully, she seemed to finally be tiring herself out from all the crying. "Now look, cheer up, and try to forget him…"

"It's… Not that easy…" She said, wiping her eyes. She had finally calmed down enough to stop crying. "I want to know what made him do that…" She sighed, shaking her head.

"Look, some guys just ain't possible to understand…" I shook my head. "And sometimes guys just don't get us… That's how it works," She nodded, wiping her eyes more.

"I guess you're right…" She said quietly. Man… she had stopped crying and all, but she still looked like crap; I could tell it'd be awhile before she got over this one…

The door knocked. We both looked over.

"Gwen? You in here?" My eyes narrowed at the sound of Cody's voice. I turned to Gwen, hoping hearing him wouldn't make her more miserable. I nearly jumped when I saw her. Well, she wasn't really sad anymore, but… This was no better…

I saw raw hate in her eyes as she rose.

"Now Gwen, don't do anything too rash…" I said, starting to fear for Cody's life. She didn't seem to hear me.

She opened the door.

"Oh, Gwen!" He greeted happily. "I've been looking all over for you… I've been down at the pool waiting…"

_**BAM**_

Before he could finish that sentence, Gwen had punched him so hard across the face that was sent spiraling to the ground about 5 feet back. I stood, eyes and jaw agape. She was breathing quickly and heavily; pure rage had formed on her face.

"Get the hell away from me," She said, sounding like she would be willing to kill. He stood, clutching his nose and eye.

"…Gwen…" He said, quivering. "What… What's…?" The fool was playing dumb.

"Cut the bull crap. I saw you and Beth out there, you dirty little cheater!" She screamed. His one visible eye widened.

"Oh God… Oh crap, no…" He took a breath. "Look, I know what that looked like, but please, you gotta believe me, that was all Beth that…"

"Shove it," Gwen hissed. "I saw it for a good 5 seconds; YOU were kissing HER. And by the looks of it, she wasn't particularly enjoying it, either!"

"Gwen, please! I swear to God that it was her!" He jumped back a foot when he saw her make a fist.

"I know what I saw, Cody," She growled.

"Gwen, if you'd just let me talk, I can…"

"I thought you were different…" She said, her anger now being replaced by sadness. "I thought you were pure… I can't believe I fell for the whole "I know you hate me" thing…" She looked away.

"Gwen, honest, I did not kiss…"

"And to think I was about to tell you I really did love you…" His eye widened even more. "At least you finally slipped up before I did…"

"No, please, Gwen…!"

"It's over, Cody. Just get the (CENSORED) away from me," I gasped at what she said. Cody backed away, completely silent. His mouth opened and closed a few times, but he didn't speak.

Now would be a good time to go…

I got up and slowly walked out of the room. I looked at Cody as I passed, shaking my head at him.

"You're pathetic, you know that?" As soon as I left, Gwen slammed the door, locking it. Cody just stood, stunned by what had just occurred.

---

Alright, this was more like a half chapter. I really am wishing I had just added this onto the other one… Regardless, I'll try to get a good long chapter out soon. Sorry!


	11. Glimmer of Hope

Alrighty, this will be longer than the last.

---

This wasn't happening. No, this was just a really bad dream! Yeah, that must be it… I laughed loudly at myself, staring in my mirror. This black eye isn't real; Beth making kissing me isn't real! Gwen's not mad at me at all I'll wake up soon and everything will be normal!

I had thought like this for about an hour, doing nothing but pace around my room. Finally, I had snapped out of denial and back into the cold, bitter reality.

I had lost Gwen.

I thought things might have not worked out at first… I was expecting a breakup… But in the time we'd spent together, even though it was but a day… I actually thought it would work…

Boy, was I ever wrong.

One tiny little slip up… One small miscalculation… That's all it could take to ruin a relationship… And that was exactly what had happened. So now, here I was, lying on my bed while staring at the ceiling.

I laughed.

What was I thinking…? I never really did have a chance with her, did I? Really, me, techno geek, bottom of the social food chain, with her? Oh, some may argue that she's goth… But that didn't change anything. She was still so out of my league that it was sickening. Of course, those social boundaries are shattered when you fall in love… But it's much easier for someone at the bottom to fall for someone farther up than vice versa…

Perhaps God was giving me a taste of what would it would feel like if it was actually possible… They say that it's better to have loved and lost to have never loved at all, after all…

A tear rolled down my cheek.

No matter what I told myself, I could not get over it. Gwen had been snatched away from me. I thought I did everything right, but… Relationships are like balance beams, and I took the wrong step, so to speak…

And thinking about it like this just made me feel worse.

Why did I have to lose her like this…? I saw what had happened with Trent; he slipped up once and she completely exploded on him. And now she thought I had cheated on her too… I couldn't imagine what she was feeling... But if it was enough to go from loving me to nearly breaking my nose, I… I trailed off for a moment.

…Love…

She said she was going to tell me it… That I could finally hear those three words escape her mouth… And now I would never be able to hear it.

Did my ancestors get a curse put on them?

I always got the short end of the stick; nothing good ever happened to Cody… No… So why would my luck change now?

I continued to drive myself insane with thoughts for what felt like days…

---

"That two-timing little…" I smirked as I heard the words escape Bridgette's mouth. Wow, if Bridgette was saying something like that… Well, word had definitely gotten round about Cody and Beth… Good… Beth had done her job right.

And speaking of the little geek…

Cody slowly emerged from the hotel, his head low and his arms hung loosely at his sides. I leaned back in my chair. Time to enjoy the show…

"Well well well… Look who decided to show his face!" Leshawna shouted, seeing him. He didn't respond in any way at all. "What's wrong? Too ashamed to speak?"

"He should be…" Bridgette commented, shaking her head. He sat down in a chair, a blank, bored look on his face. He looked like he had lost his soul… I resumed my reading, laughing to myself.

---

A shadow fell over me. I didn't look up, continuing to stare at nothing. I ignored the jeers from Leshawna and Bridgette; I just wanted to get outside for a bit.

"Hey twoface!" I heard Leshawna yell. "Your new girlfriend's here," My eyes shot up to see Beth standing over me, smiling warmly. I looked back at the nothingness.

"Let's leave them alone… Probably got a lot of kissing to catch up on now that Gwen's been tossed aside…" I shut my eyes for a moment, breathing in deeply.

"Hi…" I heard Beth say. I heard her sit down on the chair next to me. I turned my head to look at her for a moment, but turned it back to its normal position.

"Oh my God!" She yelled, jumping back up. "What happened to you?" She asked, worried about my black eye. I sighed.

"…Gwen…" I said quietly. "She caught us in the middle of your 'experiment'" I explained. "She didn't take it well…"

"So… She's just mad, right…?" I didn't see the small, evil grin she had made when I mentioned Gwen seeing us.

"Oh no… She doesn't want anything to do with me anymore…" I sighed. "And she meant it…"

"What? Over one little mistake?"

"One mistake is all it takes…" I said, shaking my head. Then, the idea formed. I perked up a bit. "Wait a minute…"

"What?" I turned to her.

"You… You could tell her what really happened! Maybe she'd believe you!" I yelled happily, my eyes wide.

"…Well…" She started.

"Well…?" Beth was nice… She would help… I knew it…

"You… Really want her back…?" I gasped slightly at what she said.

"Beth… How could you think… Of course I do!" I yelled angrily, standing up. Emotion had returned to me. "Why wouldn't I!?"

"Well… One little accident made Gwen flip out… She hurt you, both physically and mentally, over a small misunderstanding…" My eyes narrowed a bit. "I think she's just too jealous… It could be dangerous to be around her…"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I think you can better, Cody… Better than her…" There was no way in hell this was really Beth talking. "You need someone who would be able to understand you… Someone who would really care about you…" My teeth bore slightly. "She's not the girl you think she is… I was in her cabin for awhile at that camp, remember…?"

"Do you even listen to yourself talk!?" I had had enough. "I'M too good for HER!? If anything it's the other way around!! Gwen is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me in my life… And now I've lost her because of one tiny little mistake that you helped make… And now, you won't even help me correct it!?" Beth was shocked by my outburst. "I'm starting to think you did what you did on purpose…" I said. Her eyes widened. "But… That's just ridiculous… Only the most hateful, cold, angry, horrible person would do something like that… I swear to God, I don't even think Heather's that mean…" I said, shaking my head. "I know you're nicer than that, but…" I sighed. "You know, I thought you'd understand, since you know it was a mistake… I'd thought you stand by me…"

"Cody, I do… I really care about you… I just want you to be happy…"

"You REALLY want me to be happy…?"

"Yes!" she nodded happily.

"Stop keeping me to yourself and HELP. ME. OUT," I yelled loudly. "You have no idea how much pain Gwen's in… Hell, I don't… But I won't just stand here and listen to you badmouth her… She's broken, Beth… And I can't fix her alone…" I turned around. "So, when you're ready to help me out, THEN you can come find me…" With those words, I left Beth stunned. I would probably regret what I said later, but for now, I felt nothing.

---

Worse… Worse than Heather…?

No… I wasn't that bad… No, nowhere close…

I had faced much worse from guys than what he just did; I didn't feel anything besides sadness that he hadn't fallen for me like I'd hoped… I didn't realize just how much Heather had corrupted me… But I figured he was just still getting over her. In time, he'd stop caring about her… And then I'd find him…

---

"Well well…" I said, chuckling to myself. "That was quite a show…" Courtney stood next to me, her arms crossed as she shook her head.

"There's no way he cheated on Gwen…" She deduced.

"So what, you think Beth set it up?"

"Maybe…" She answered. "I think we need to have a little chat with Beth in private…"

"So what, we're gonna interrogate her?" I asked, amused.

"Now I never said that… But yeah, kinda…" I shook my head, smiling.

"I still don't see why you dragged me along… Or why you care so much about this…"

"Well, I had my doubts Cody really did what Leshawna told us… Not to brag, but I'm an expert on relationships…"

"Sure…" I know she really didn't mean to brag half the time she did, but still…

"Oh quiet… Even you should realize Cody loves Gwen way too much to do something that bold…"

"I guess you got a point… But why do you care, again?"

"Well, Cody's a nice guy… And anyone who cares about someone that much doesn't deserve this…"

"You're too soft, you know?"

"You're too tough,"

"Guess I get to be the bad cop, then…"

"Oh, enough with the interrogation metaphors…"

"What? I'm a convict. Of course I'm gonna make those metaphors,"

"Whatever… Come on, I got a plan,"

"We're doomed… Ow!" I yelled as she smacked the back of my head. "Alright, alright…" I ran after my girlfriend, still annoyed she was dragging me along in this… But meh, I guess helping those two get back together would be fun…

As long as I get to be the bad cop…

---

Looks like not all hope is lost for Cody just yet… and I know Beth seems way too evil and heartless; don't worry, she'll come around in the end!


	12. Revealing the Truth

And now things will start to take a turn for the better… Let the interrogation chapter begin!

---

It had been a few hours since I had seen Cody… I couldn't even think it. I was lying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling blankly. I couldn't tell, but my eyes were bloodshot beyond belief from all the crying I had done. My cheeks felt dry from the water evaporating off them. I still held my pillow firmly, although I was much calmer than before.

That didn't mean I was any less depressed.

I thought he loved me… I didn't really want to believe that kiss had ever happened, but… I couldn't ignore it… I saw it with my own eyes. And then… And then he had to nerve to come back here like nothing had happened!? I smirked slightly, remembering his expression when I had hit him… But I'm sure he was over it by now; he was probably making out with Beth right now…

Thinking about that brought back the image into my head… Seeing Cody kissing Beth like that… Oh… Oh crap… Here we go again…

I hugged the pillow tighter as more tears began to fall.

---

I sighed, sitting on my bed. What had I done wrong? I was just trying to help Cody out… I was being honest, too! Gwen couldn't trust anyone, even her boyfriend… So why did Cody flip out like that…?

Hm…

Well, I'm sure he'll get over her… I know he will. He'll be looking for another girl in no time, and I'd be sure that would be me…

I heard something slip under my door.

I turned my head to see a piece of paper that someone had slid into my room. Curious, I got up and walked over, picking it up. It was a note addressed to me… I unfolded it, and began to read.

"Dear Beth…" I read aloud. "I'm sorry for yelling at you like that…" I felt a grin creep up on my face. "You were right about Gwen; I think it's high time I moved on… So meet me in room 103 in 15 minutes… Love, Cody…" I read the letter over a few times to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

Love…

It seemed Cody had come to his senses after all… I ran into the bathroom to look at myself quickly. I fixed myself up quickly, and ran out of the room, eager to meet up with Cody.

---

"Looks like she got it…" I said, watching Beth sprint down the hall.

"Perfect…"

---

I looked at my watch… It had been 15 minutes now… I looked up. Room 103… I took a breath, knocking on the door.

"Cody…? It's Beth!"

The door opened without a word being said. I entered anyway, too blinded by love to care.

---

The room was empty; there were no beds, no TV, nothing… Just a single table with a single chair on one end, with a single light hanging above it…

The door shut behind me.

"Hello, Beth…" I jumped at the sound of Duncan's voice. I turned around to see him leaning against the door, smiling.

"Oh… H-hey Duncan…" I greeted nervously. "What are you doing here…?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing,"

"Well I'm waiting for Cody... He said he wanted to meet me here…"

"Funny story," He said, laughing slightly. "I'M waiting for Courtney here…" I was confused.

"…Oh…"

"But hey, as long as you're waiting, why don't you sit in this chair…" He invited.

"Well, I don't know…" I looked at it, reluctant.

The door opened.

"Cody!?" I asked gleefully, turning around with folded hands. My face fell when I saw Courtney at the door.

"Oh, hey Beth…" She said, shutting the door.

"She's waiting for Cody, apparently…" He said with a smirk on his face. His looked suspicious… But maybe that was just the fact that he was a convict… But Courtney had the same smile on her face too…

Duncan locked the door.

"W-What are you…" I started.

"Oh, don't worry, we'll unlock it when he gets here… For now, why don't you have a seat…?" Courtney asked.

"But…"

"Have a seat," Duncan said in a much harsher tone. I shut my mouth and obeyed.

The lights went out, all except for the one above me.

"What's going on…?"

"Oh, you'll see…" Courtney said slyly. I was beginning to feel a bit frightened; something was about to happen…

---

"So, Beth… Apparently Cody was caught kissing you… Is that really true?" Courtney asked. Beth nodded. "Thought so… And this made Gwen and Cody break up…?" She nodded again. "Now then… According to Leshawna, Gwen described the scene like this; Cody had his arms wrapped around your head, his eyes shut… Your eyes were wide and your arms were flailing out…" She continued. "Is this true?"

"Yes… He just… Came at me…"

"Really now?" She nodded. "So, what had happened just before this? What were you two talking about?" Beth's eyes widened a bit.

"Uh… Well… I don't really remember," She said quickly. "It… Wasn't anything important," Oh yeah, she was DEFINETILY hiding something.

"…I see…" Courtney thought.

"Look, what's this about?" Beth suddenly asked. "Why are you asking so many questions!?"

"Well, we…"

"Courtney, stop," I cut in. "I'll handle this…" I stepped forward, bending down and looking Beth in the eye. "Cody isn't coming… He didn't send that letter…" Beth's eyes widened. "We did. See, we know something's up… We know Cody wouldn't just cheat on Gwen for you out of the blue… That guy is crazy about her," I turned for a moment, pausing. I then whipped around, getting right in her face. "So maybe you should just tell us what REALLY happened now, or things could get real ugly…" Beth shrunk back in her chair, shaking.

"Duncan…" Courtney said sternly.

"What? I'm the bad cop, remember?"

"Would you give it a rest?" She sighed. Beth got up.

"I'm not going to stand here and be interrogated!" She said angrily.

"SIT. DOWN," I said, punching one of my palms. Beth's expression turned back to her normal frightened one, and she quickly sank back down. "See? It's all about intimidation…" I explained to Courtney. She rolled her eyes.

"There's a difference between being intimidating and being a savage ogre…" She muttered. She turned her attention to Beth. "But he's right; we know that there's more to this than meets the eye… So why don't you make this quick and simple and tell us what actually happened?"

"I told you the truth; we were talking and he just… Pounced on me…" She smiled. "I kinda liked it…"

"Oh REALLY now…?" I asked, leaning in close, smirking. "So, do you like Cody…?"

"Well…" She gulped. "…Kinda…" I moved closer. "Alright, yes!"

"That's what I thought…" I said. Courtney didn't interrupt; this was working well. "How did you feel about Gwen and Cody dating?"

"Well, I was sad about it at first… But…"

"Not jealous at all?"

"No,"

"REALLY NOW…?" I asked, moving closer.

"Okay, okay, I was really jealous!" I chuckled. This was too easy… It took the pros hours to get anything out of me…

"So it seems you would have a good reason to want them to break up, then," I said, crossing my arms.

"Well, Cody could do so much better than her!"

She immediately covered her mouth upon saying this. I raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"Well…" I laughed. "Now we're getting somewhere…" Sweat had started to form on her.

Courtney suddenly pushed me aside.

"Alright, Duncan, that's enough…" She smiled at Beth. "Sorry about that…"

"You're not gonna get anywhere acting like…"

She slammed her hands on the table.

"Alright, I'm done being the good cop," She said angrily. "Talk. Now," Beth shrunk back.

"I swear, I didn't…"

"I SAID TALK!!" Courtney screamed. I smiled to myself.

"Now you're getting it…" I knew how Courtney's temper worked… Once being nice didn't work… Well…

"I-I really didn't…" Courtney leaned in until she was inches from Beth.

"I can keep this attitude up all night… Question is, can you…?" Holy crap… I'll admit, I found it pretty hot when she got this mad… I sat back and enjoyed the show.

"I…I…"

"I want the truth, too!" She moved even closer to her ear. "And I can smell lies…" She hissed.

"I… Alright, I'll talk!" Beth sprang up. "Heather was in on it too! She convinced me to get them to break up!"

"And the kiss?"

"I set it up to make it look like he was kissing me… And I made sure Gwen had seen,"

"Too easy…" I said, laughing. Beth wiped her brow.

"Alright, you happy?" She asked, heading for the door.

"Hold up…" I grabbed her shoulder. "We're not done yet…" I smirked. "Let's go for a walk… Let's go find Gwen, Beth…"

"Yeah, I'm sure there are a lot of things she would really want to hear about…" Courtney added.

---

I'm sorry these chapters are really short lately, but it's more for small cliffhanger effects… I apologize. Stay tuned for the next update!


	13. Reunited

This is probably the second to last chapter. Thanks for making it this far!

---

A knock disrupted me from my depressing thoughts, startling me. Who could that be…? Deciding it would be best to at least see who it was, I slowly got up and moved to the door, peeping through the 1-way viewing hole.

Beth.

I made a small, disgusted noise, and headed back for my bed.

Another knock rang out.

"Gwen, I know you're in there… Please, open up, I really need to talk with you," I didn't budge. "Gwen, please! It's about Cody," I rolled my eyes.

"I don't want to hear about him anymore… I hope you're happy with him," I growled.

"But…"

"Just go!" I yelled angrily.

"He didn't cheat on you!" She yelled quickly. My eyes widened a bit.

"…What…?" I stuck a finger in my ear to make sure there wasn't anything in it.

"I said he didn't cheat on you…" I raised an eyebrow. "Please, just let me in… I have a lot to discuss…" Still unsure about the situation, I walked back to the door, and unlocked it. I dragged Beth in, locking the door.

"Alright, start talking," I said, sitting down on the bed. Beth took a small breath, beginning her story.

---

I was back at the pool grounds once again, lying emotionlessly in one of the chairs. There were other people around, but nobody said anything to me. Occasionally they gave me strange looks… They weren't angry; rather, they were sympathetic… I ignored it, thinking it was just my eyes playing tricks on me. I didn't see Beth around, which was a good thing as far as I was concerned. I know Gwen hated me at this point, but hearing someone talk like that about her was just… I couldn't even think of a word to describe it. Regardless, I didn't want to speak to her for awhile. Hell, I didn't want to see any girl for that matter… All these couples around me were making me feel even worse…

I had to get away.

I shot up, and quickly made for the hot tub area. At least there I could be alone…

---

"…And once I got Heather sneezed, that was the signal to stage the kiss…" Beth finished nervously. I stared in disbelief at the girl in front of me.

"So… You… You purposely made it look like Cody went at you... Just to break us up!?" My voice rose quickly as I stood. Beth cowered back.

"Y-Yeah…" She stammered.

"Do you even realize what kind of pain I was put through seeing that!? Do you realize how badly I must've hurt Cody! I punched him clean in the face for God's sake!" I screamed, furious beyond all reason.

"G-Gwen, let me…"

"Let you what? Go try to wreck someone else's life!?" I stood over her threateningly. "I didn't know what pain was until today, Beth…"

"Look, I'm sorry…" I didn't let her finish.

"Sorry!? That's all you got? Sorry doesn't solve every problem, Beth!" I raged on.

"I don't know what I was thinking, alright!?" Beth suddenly yelled. I shut up. "I was just… So jealous of you and Cody…" She sighed. "I wasn't thinking clearly. Look, you have to believe me… I would never go as far as to sabotage a relationship like that… But…" She made a fist. "Heather… Caught me in a moment of weakness… I was so angry about seeing you two so madly in love at the time that I couldn't resist Heather's offer…" My glare lightened a bit. I knew how submissive Beth could be… Especially when she was in emotional distress. "I may have bad mouthed you or something… But I never wanted to do what I did… I just… Wanted Cody so much…" I sighed, shaking my head.

"Look… I know you really like Cody… But chasing after him constantly isn't going to win him over…"

"I know… But…"

"Look, I know how bad it is to lose someone you think you love… But remember, there's someone even better out there for you, Beth… Cody's a great guy, but…" I sighed, feeling selfish about what I was going to say. "Cody's… Mine…" She looked down. "But there's someone else out there with your name on it, I can assure you… He's just not one of the guys we met at the island," Beth thought.

"Maybe you're right…" She sighed, but smiled. "Yeah… I know you're right…"

"It's like Leshawna told me, you don't have to have a boyfriend in high school… You may not meet the right guy until later. I just lucked out," Beth smiled.

"Thanks…" She said quietly. "You know… I was wrong; you really do deserve someone like Cody… You're a lot nicer than you let on…"

"Hey, I have an image to keep…" I said. We both laughed.

"Well… I think you should find Cody… He's really let down about what happened…" I nodded, getting up. "Oh, wait…"

"Huh?"

"…You got scissors…?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah… What for…?"

"Oh, I just want to give Heather a parting gift…" She said, shrugging. I smirked, opening a drawer.

"And to think, her hair just grew back…" I said, handing her some scissors. She left the room after that. I smiled to myself, thinking about how Heather would react to seeing her hair gone again… But no time for that now! I needed to find Cody…

---

I sighed, the hot water not helping me in any way. My heart still ached; Gwen was gone, and I couldn't seem to accept it and move on… And I was starting to think I never would. Gwen was just… Perfect in every way… Looks, attitude, intelligence, style… Good lord, she was everything… And now she was lost forever.

Then I heard footsteps.

I sighed, not wanting to deal with anyone.

"Look, if you've come here to yell at me about cheating on Gwen, don't bother… Everyone else has…"

"Actually…" My eyes widened. A lot. "I'm here to see if you still love me…" I whipped around, my mouth wide open.

"…G…G…Gwen…!?" I stuttered, color leaving my face. She smiled warmly as she got into the tub next to me. "What… What are…" I started to breath rapidly. What was she doing here? Was I dreaming? Did I fall asleep in the tub?

The sudden feeling of her lips touching mine made me realize this was no dream.

Gwen parted from the kiss quickly, a sad look on her face.

"Cody… Can you ever forgive me…?" She suddenly asked.

"Wha…?"

"Beth told me everything… How she kissed you… How Heather convinced her to try to break us up…" My eyes widened more.

"She… She what!?" This was the first I'd heard of it.

"Yeah… But don't be mad at her; it was all Heather… And Beth's taking care of her…" I remained quiet.

"…So… You're… Not mad anymore…?"

"Of course I'm not…" She felt my eye; I winced a bit. "Oh…" She said, worried. "Did I really hurt you that much…?" I smiled a bit.

"Yeah… You're pretty strong, you know…?" She blushed, half embarrassed and half ashamed. "But it's no big deal!" I said, beaming. "I've had worse!" We were silent once again, until she sighed.

"I think I got too angry with you… I mean, I didn't even let you try to explain…"

"Hey, it looked like I had her. Would you have believed me if I said she tricked me into it? Of course not… I wouldn't believe it…" She smiled slightly.

"So… YOU'RE not mad about what I did anymore…?"

"Of course not!" I assured her. "This shiner makes me feel tough, anyways…" She smirked.

"Even though you got hit by a girl?"

"Hey, I don't see anything wrong with that," I said defensively. She giggled a bit.

"I know… You're not like Ezekiel…" she said.

"Well… To answer your question… Yes, I still love you more than anything in the world…" She blushed slightly, smiling.

"I know you do…" She said, sighing happily. "You've said it too many times to count…" I grinned widely. "But…" She sighed. "I… Never returned the favor…" My grin faded. She sighed. "Cody… I know I said I wasn't sure, but… Now I am…" I swallowed a bit. "I spoke with Trent earlier today, and… Well, he made me realize something…"

"Realize what…?"

"Cody…" My eyes widened a bit. "…I love you… With all my heart…"

In a way, I knew that was coming… But I still hugged her tightly.

"Oh Gwen… You don't know how much I've wanted to hear that…!" I said, a few happy tears falling from my face.

"A few months?" She guessed, smirking. I laughed.

"Something like that…" I let her go, looking into her emerald eyes once again. "So, we're officially back together then?"

"Yep!" She said, smiling happily.

"Good…" I sighed happily, thanking God for this gift…

"Cody…" I looked at her. "I know… I know we just made up and all… But I love you, and you love me, and…" She wrapped her arms around my waist slowly and lovingly. "I don't care how fast we go anymore…" She clamped her mouth on mine quickly and rather fiercely… Not that I minded… I smiled to myself, moving my arms around her hips and moving down… She stopped.

"Uh…"

"Woah… I never said you could touch my butt!" She laughed, pulling us back into the kiss. I laughed to myself, resting my hands on her back. We quickly got much more passionate with our kissing; it wasn't long before we were doing what we had done back at my room this morning… Only this time, nobody was around to cut our time short. We had all the time in the world to ourselves…

Gwen was mine again… and I'd never let her go…

---

Alright, so maybe it wasn't quite as butterfly-fluff like as you thought… Or as long… But they're madly in love with each other, and what can I say? Next chapter will be the last, but don't fret! I'll be typing more stories after this!


	14. The Perfect Gift

This is it! The final chapter! Thanks for reading, everyone! And thanks for all the great reviews, too. Now, since Christmas is coming up soon, this chapter will be Christmas related. How? You'll see…

Disclaimer: Once more, I have no ownership to anything in this story.

---

The week went by fast after that. I spent most of the time alone with Cody, although I spent a lot of time with my old friends, too. We had gone to a nearby beach a lot of the time too; Cody ended up getting stung by a jellyfish, which he cried about for a good half hour… People got annoyed, but it was just so adorable to see someone his age cry like that… And I got video of it…

But he didn't know that…

---

I sighed as I dragged the rest of my stuff out of my room. The week-long trip had ended, and we were getting ready to head for the airport… I walked down the hallway to the main lobby, where others were waiting. I covered a laugh as I looked at Heather again; Beth had indeed cut off her hair, but that's not all… She also had given Heather a beard and mustache using the hair with some sort of super adhesive… Whatever it was, not even Chef could tear it off… And the adhesive, which was still sticky, made shaving it impossible… I had heard that she was going to have to go to the hospital to get it removed…

That's karma for you.

Naturally, we all got pictures; Beth even set up a video of her doing it on Youtube… Heather wasn't a very light sleeper, as you could probably tell.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I smiled as I turned.

"Oh, hey Cody…" I said.

"Hey…" He sighed as he spoke, looking down. I knew why he sad; we did not live anywhere near each other. We may have had this week to ourselves, but… Cody lived hours away from me… I wasn't going to get to see him much after this.

That didn't change anything, of course.

I was not going to replace him; I still loved him. We could still talk on the phone and everything, but… I sighed, dreading the thought of the inevitable long-distance relationship…

"We're not gonna see each other much after this…" He summed up what I was thinking. I nodded.

"Cheer up… We can still talk on the phone, or chat on the computer… I'm considering getting an Xbox 360 like you so we can talk on that…" I said. He smiled sadly.

"I know… But it's just not the same…" He reached into his pocket. I raised an eyebrow. "I got you something…"

"Cody, you didn't…"

"Here…" He pulled out something. "Hold out your hand," I shut my eyes as I did what he said. I felt something fall into my open hand. I opened my eyes, and gasped.

It was a locket. A beautiful, dark blue stone laced with shimmering obsidian bits, with a silver chain.

"Cody…" My mouth felt dry.

"Open it up…" He said quietly. I did just that. As I thought, there were pictures of us on the inside, one on each end.

"Oh my…" I felt tears well up in my eyes as I stared at the magnificent necklace… "Cody, this is…" I pulled him into a tight embrace, as I felt tears fall from my eyes; they were both from joy and sorrow. "It's perfect…!"

"Just thought I would get you something to remember me by..."

"But… I didn't get you anything…" I felt selfish when I said this.

"Don't worry… I didn't want you to…" He stroked my hair. "Besides, you already gave me your gift a few days ago…"

"What did I get you…?" I was confused.

"Why, you gave me three words…" I fell silent. "I love you…" He said softly. "As long as I can hear you say that, I don't care if you never give me anything else…" More tears dripped from my eyes. I nuzzled against him slightly.

"Cody…" I whispered into his ear.

"Gwen…" He held me close. I felt moisture on his cheek; he was crying too…

We separated, staring at each other with nothing but love in our eyes.

"When will I see you again…? "He asked.

"I don't know… It could be months… Maybe years…" I sighed. "But, until then…" I kissed him slowly and gently on his lips. "I love you…"

"And I love you…" We touched foreheads, kissing each other one last time… Then, we were off…

---

I sighed deeply as I shut the locket, recalling that week… It had been months since then; it was now Christmas time here. I was behind the counter at Hot Topic, but not many people were coming in for last-minute shopping here… I had not seen Cody since then; we had spoken on the phone and all, but… I wanted to feel him against me… I wanted to feel his lips on mine again… A single tear fell as I recalled past events… People were entering the store; I shook myself from my thoughts.

"Can I help you find anything…?"

---

I opened the door to my house, throwing off my coat. I walked into the kitchen, checking the fridge. There was a note.

"Dear Gwen…" I began. "I'm out doing last-minute shopping. Be back later tonight. Love, Mom," I sighed, walking into our living room and flopping down on the couch. It was Christmas Eve, but I felt really depressed… I hadn't thought about Cody for awhile, but…

The doorbell rang.

I groaned, getting up. I walked to the door, looking to see who it was. I smiled, opening it.

"Hey, Trent…"

"Hey! Merry Christmas, Gwen!" Trent, unlike Cody, did live close by. He stopped by every so often to hang out.

"Doesn't your family want you home?"

"Well, yeah," He said. "But I'm a few minutes away, so I figured I'd stop by… He turned around, dragging a huge present box in with him.

"What… What the heck is that!?" I asked, jaw dropped. The box was about the size of me.

"What, this? It's your Christmas present! Figured I'd drop it off now… It's kinda heavy…"

"I can see that!" I yelled, still shocked.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you gonna open it?"

"But Christmas is tomorrow…" He smiled.

"Trust me, you'll want it now… Come on, it took me all day to get this here! I was out since morning!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! I wanted to get you the perfect gift…" I smiled.

"Well, we'll see how perfect it is… Alright, fine…" I decided to humor him and grabbed some scissors. I cut the ribbon, pulling it off. I slowly pulled off the top of the box. "Wonder what's in here…" I said as I put it on the ground. I looked in, and screamed.

Cody leapt out of the box in a Santa Claus suit.

"Ho ho ho!" He said happily. "Merry Christ…" I tackled him to the ground, hugging him as tightly as I possibly could.

"CODY!!" I yelled, on top of him. "OH MY GOD!!" I planted a big, wet kiss on him. "What are you doing here?"

"…C…C… Can't… Br…Brea…"

"Can't wha… Oh…" I released him, blushing furiously. He sucked in air.

"Thanks…" I hugged him more gently this time as we got up.

"You like your gift?" I simply smiled as widely as I could at Trent.

"Yeah, Trent drove down to pick me up this morning…" Cody explained. "Figured we'd surprise you,"

"How long is he gonna be here?" I asked Trent. "All week?"

"… No…" Trent said. My face fell.

"But… We have the week off…"

"Well…" Cody began. "It's not that simple…"

"How long, then…?" I asked, worried. I hoped it was at least a few days.

"Well… You know that house down at the end of the road…?"

"The one the people are trying to sell?"

"Yeah, that's the one…"

"Why?" I asked, confused as to why he brought that up.

"Well… I have a present for you too…" He said happily.

"What…?" He held out a paper. I took it from him, scanning it.

My eyes widened. I read it again. I put a hand on my chest, jaw dropped.

"Cody…" I began. "You… You…"

"Yeah… We bought it," He smiled. "We'll be moving here by January,"

Tears formed in my eyes.

"Well… I'll leave you two alone… Merry Christmas!" Trent stepped out the door, shutting it.

"Cody… You're moving for me?"

"Of course… It took awhile to convince my parents AND sell the house…" He said, arms around me. "I've planned this ever since I got back from that trip…" He looked at my neck. "Still got that, I see…"

"I never take it off…" I said, smiling.

"I knew you wouldn't… Now, do you mind telling me about the town…?" He asked, sitting on the couch. "My parents need to know…"

"Of course…" I sat on his lap. "But can I tell you what I want for Christmas first…?"

"Sure thing, little girl!" He said, laughing. I leaned against his chest, his arms around me.

"Well, what I want isn't much…" I began. "Just this…" He grabbed his head and pulled him into a kiss, turning around so I was sitting on his lap while facing him. He fell over on the couch when I did this, causing me to as well. I was lying on top of him, laughing with him.

"You know… You can tell me later…" He said. "For now, let's just… Relax…"

Of course, by relax he meant make out.

"I wouldn't have it any other way…" He stopped me suddenly.

"But first… What's the password?" I smirked.

"I love you,"

"Password accepted… And I love you too…" With that, our lips locked once more. I sighed happily as we got more and more loving with our kiss…

Finally, I had gotten the perfect Christmas present.

---

Aaaaaaaaaaaand… THAT'S THE END!! Thanks for reading, everyone! I know the Christmas thing may have kinda steered the story in slightly different direction, but I felt it was necessary. With that said, I will be writing more stories after this, so don't fret! This is Killyouguy2.0, signing off!


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